circumstantial evidence
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of circumstantial evidence
First recorded in 1730–40
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.
Like a criminal trial with no eyewitnesses, the prosecution of the “Queens of Combat” question relies on a cistern’s worth of circumstantial evidence, which may or may not add up to a case.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026
But as it stands that remains a feeling - circumstantial evidence at best - and the first minister's denials were categorical.
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026
“It is like circumstantial evidence in a Sherlock Holmes mystery,” said Slok.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025
But they do happen, with jurisdictions in many countries concluding that circumstantial evidence alone can constitute proof.
From BBC • Oct. 17, 2025
When Quintilian says that circumstantial evidence can take the place of a witness, later lawyers took him as authorizing it to be considered as half of a complete proof.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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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.