authenticate
Americanverb (used with object)
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authenticates,
present (3rd person singular)
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authenticated,
past participle, past
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authenticating
present participle
-
to establish as genuine.
- Synonyms:
- substantiate, validate, confirm
-
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
"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
AFP was not immediately able to authenticate these soundbites.
From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026
Geri explained that he needed the director of the Uffizi to authenticate the painting.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
An expert who authenticates designer goods said she was aware of issues regarding second-hand luxury items sold online.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 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
For nearly two decades Banksy has remained anonymous with the help of nondisclosure agreements, trademark law and a team that authenticates his work.
From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 2022
Sir William Hamilton, following Reid, asserts a natural Realism, or noumenal existence within the phenomenal; but he utterly denies that either of these authenticates the Infinite and Absolute.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 69, July, 1863 by Various
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
"If fans are purchasing tickets on Ticketmaster, they can be confident that they're getting a real, authenticated ticket that will get them into tonight's game," a Ticketmaster spokesperson told the BBC on Saturday.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 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
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
At their request, he wrote letters to the Great Khan, authenticating the causes of their failure to fulfil the wishes of the Khan in the matter of obtaining the missionaries whom he desired.
From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 5 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne
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.
