authenticate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to establish as genuine.
- Synonyms:
- substantiate, validate, confirm
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to establish the authorship or origin of conclusively or unquestionably, chiefly by the techniques of scholarship.
to authenticate a painting.
-
to make authoritative or valid.
verb
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to establish as genuine or valid
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to give authority or legal validity to
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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authenticationnoun
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authenticatornoun
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nonauthenticationnoun
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reauthenticateverb (used with object)
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authenticatableadjective
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nonauthenticatedadjective
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self-authenticatingadjective
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unauthenticatedadjective
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well-authenticatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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authenticatesimple
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authenticatessimple
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have authenticatedperfect
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has authenticatedperfect
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am authenticatingprogressive
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are authenticatingprogressive
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is authenticatingprogressive
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have been authenticatingperfect progressive
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has been authenticatingperfect progressive
Past
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authenticatedsimple
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had authenticatedperfect
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was authenticatingprogressive
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were authenticatingprogressive
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had been authenticatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of authenticate
First recorded in 1565–75; from Medieval Latin authenticātus “made authentic” (past participle of authenticāre ). See authentic, -ate 1
Explanation
When you authenticate something, you establish that it’s the real thing. If you authenticate a painting, for example, you’re sure that it's an original work, not a copy. The verb authenticate came into English in the seventeenth century by way of the Latin word authenticat-, meaning “established as valid.” You’ve probably heard it to mean that a valuable item, like a diamond or a rare vase, is genuine. But not everything that has to be authenticated is worth a lot of money. For example, experts authenticate evidence in an investigation and you authenticate your identity to gain access to your email account.
Vocabulary lists containing authenticate
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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.
See Examples For:
Hence the trip to Vigo to see her paternal grandparents for the first time so she can authenticate her ancestry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
The technology is also being applied to authenticate products, create new fragrances and monitor livestock health and emissions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
"In this study we show how to authenticate a biomarker, verifying that a signal truly comes from life rather than contamination or non-biological chemistry," Shawar adds.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026
AFP was not immediately able to authenticate these soundbites.
From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026
Would it be contrary to medical ethics in the HeLa cell’s coming-of-age year to authenticate the name and let He .
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Paul’s card was graded 10 by Professional Sports Authenticators, or PSA, a third-party service that authenticates and grades trading cards and other collectibles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
One of those companies was Quest, the maker of OneLogin software that authenticates employees logging into their work platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
Although a fantastically informative dive that also authenticates much of the movie’s narrative, I do question a serious expose about Oppenheimer using Bill Nye as a science authority source.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
It went unnoticed for two days until a visitor pointed it out, and it was later confirmed as a Banksy by Pest Control, which authenticates the artist's works.
From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2022
He furnishes copies of records and papers kept in his office, impressed with the seal of his department, and authenticates all proclamations and messages of the President.
From Elements of Civil Government by Peterman, Alexander L.
If someone doesn’t have an authenticated IRS account already, getting started requires an account with ID.me, a business offering identity verification for government agencies, retailers and healthcare organizations.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Around 15 of such hats have been fully authenticated, most of them now held in museum collections, said Parich.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
The next day, the open-source research outfit Bellingcat said it had authenticated a video showing a Tomahawk missile strike next to the school in Minab.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
A long lost painting by Rembrandt has been rediscovered and authenticated by experts, after its whereabouts were unknown for decades.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
I kept my hunch a secret but had the manuscript authenticated by an expert.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
This technology could potentially be applied to authenticating wine, perfumes or other luxury goods, says Liu of Ainos, which trained its e-nose to differentiate varieties of coffee beans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
The sixth, S Pheonix Events, which also notes the receipt of an application to strike off, lists Sarah Ferguson as the person authenticating the application on behalf of the company.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Rather than authenticating the tag, a better security solution is to authenticate the item itself, Han says.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2024
Evidently authenticating the footage, Mayor Karen Bass confirmed to TV station NBC4 that people were seen parachuting off the building.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
He’d see what he could do toward authenticating a creditable escutcheon and exhibiting the same to mamma.
From Lonesome Town by Dorrance, Ethel
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.
