testify
Americanverb (used without object)
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to bear witness; give or afford evidence.
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Law. to give testimony under oath or solemn affirmation, usually in court.
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to make solemn declaration.
verb (used with object)
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to bear witness to; affirm as fact or truth; attest.
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to give or afford evidence of in any manner.
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Law. to state or declare under oath or affirmation, usually in court.
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to declare, profess, or acknowledge openly.
verb
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(when tr, may take a clause as object) to state (something) formally as a declaration of fact
I testify that I know nothing about him
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law to declare or give (evidence) under oath, esp in court
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to be evidence (of); serve as witness (to)
the money testified to his good faith
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(tr) to declare or acknowledge openly
Other Word Forms
- pretestify verb (used with object)
- retestify verb
- testification noun
- testifier noun
- untestifying adjective
Etymology
Origin of testify
1350–1400; Middle English testifyen < Latin testificārī to bear witness, equivalent to testi ( s ) witness + -ficārī -fy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Despite local families and activists getting there first, nine anti-trans folks testified first,” she noted.
From Salon
Bovino testified that merely touching an agent “could be assault depending on the situation. Spitting on someone could be assault.”
From Los Angeles Times
He testified that he had fled his native Cuba in 2024 after protesting against the government, for which he was jailed, surveilled and persecuted.
From Los Angeles Times
He has been testifying as a defendant in his trial since last December while Israel has been at war, and hasn’t been convicted.
Jacob Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail after refusing to testify to a panel probing financial corruption and cronyism under his presidency.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
