bear witness

American  

[bair wit-nis] / ˈbɛər ˈwɪt nɪs /

idiom

1. to serve as evidence that something is true or real.

   Not everyone’s sobriety can bear witness to the effectiveness of rehab, but in her case it most certainly can.

2. to proclaim or demonstrate a devout belief in.

   Who will join me in bearing witness to our Lord?

3. to testify; give or afford evidence, as in a court of law.

   When the case went to trial, he reluctantly agreed to bear witness against his neighbor.

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Etymology

Origin of bear witness

First recorded in 1300–50

Example Sentences

As early as the 1960s, when many survivors were too traumatized to bear witness, he spoke to students and other groups about the Holocaust—at first in general, later in personal terms.

From The Wall Street Journal

“How are we going to do this?” she asks her husband Eliot, through whose eyes readers bear witness to the story.

From The Wall Street Journal

And some simply bear witness to the grief that, almost a year later, still bubbles up.

From Los Angeles Times

The state legislature’s medical affairs committee’s first hearing on the bill last month saw hundreds of South Carolinians gathered to testify and bear witness.

From Salon

The statement adds that the artefacts "bear witness to the history of the encounter between faith and the cultures of the indigenous peoples".

From BBC