authenticate

American  

[aw-then-ti-kayt] / ɔˈθɛn tɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• authenticates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• authenticated,
  past participle,  past
• authenticating
  present participle

1. to establish as genuine.

   Synonyms:

   substantiate, validate, confirm

2. to establish the authorship or origin of conclusively or unquestionably, chiefly by the techniques of scholarship.

   to authenticate a painting.

3. to make authoritative or valid.

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authenticate British  

/ ɔːˈθɛntɪˌkeɪt /

verb

1. to establish as genuine or valid

2. to give authority or legal validity to

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• authentication
  noun
• authenticator
  noun
• nonauthentication
  noun
• reauthenticate
  verb (used with object)
• authenticatable
  adjective
• nonauthenticated
  adjective
• self-authenticating
  adjective
• unauthenticated
  adjective
• well-authenticated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• authenticating
  present
• authenticated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• authenticate
  simple
• authenticates
  simple
• have authenticated
  perfect
• has authenticated
  perfect
• am authenticating
  progressive
• are authenticating
  progressive
• is authenticating
  progressive
• have been authenticating
  perfect progressive
• has been authenticating
  perfect progressive

Past

• authenticated
  simple
• had authenticated
  perfect
• was authenticating
  progressive
• were authenticating
  progressive
• had been authenticating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will authenticate
  simple
• will have authenticated
  perfect
• will be authenticating
  progressive
• will have been authenticating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of authenticate

First recorded in 1565–75; from Medieval Latin authenticātus “made authentic” (past participle of authenticāre ). See authentic, -ate ¹

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

authenticate authenticates authenticated authenticating

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

"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

Nanos also said the sheriff's office had received a copy of a ransom note and was working with the FBI to authenticate it.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026

Athena’s focus so far is designers and brands such as Jimmy Choo and Alice + Olivia, ones that are less challenging to authenticate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 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

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

“The more you can see someone like yourself on television, it authenticates who you are. The more you can say, ‘I could be that too.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2022

According to Heritage Auctions, the Mantle card was graded a 9.5 out of 10 by Sportscard Guaranty Corporation, which authenticates and grades trading cards.

From New York Times ● Aug. 28, 2022

Anyway, Tolstoy authenticates himself in this novel as a past master of realism, particularly in his utterly convincing depictment of Russian soldier life.

From Prophets of Dissent : Essays on Maeterlinck, Strindberg, Nietzsche and Tolstoy by Otto Heller

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

However, there was an intriguing postscript when the ball itself - or at least one purporting to be so, which was authenticated by Sobers - was sold at auction by Christie's for £26,400.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The newly authenticated hat will serve as the centrepiece of an exhibition devoted to the art collections of Napoleon's sister, opening in early June.

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

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

Headed into the 2024 election, every American needs to up to the challenge of authenticating the news that they use to inform how they vote.

From Salon ● May 21, 2024

“Above all else though, the program does not allow for authenticating balls in the stands because it is a chain-of-custody and witness-based program.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

Rather than authenticating the tag, a better security solution is to authenticate the item itself, Han says.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2024

Authenticā′tion, act of authenticating: confirmation; Authentic′ity, quality of being authentic: state of being true or in accordance with fact: genuineness.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

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Related Words

• attest
• corroborate
• substantiate
• validate
• verify

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