corroborate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
corroborates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
corroborated,
past participle, past
-
corroborating
present participle
adjective
verb
adjective
-
serving to corroborate a fact, an opinion, etc
-
(of a fact) corroborated
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
corroborationnoun
-
corroboratornoun
-
corroborativeadjective
-
corroboratoryadjective
-
noncorroboratingadjective
-
noncorroborativeadjective
-
noncorroboratoryadjective
-
uncorroboratedadjective
-
uncorroborativeadjective
-
uncorroboratoryadjective
-
corroborativelyadverb
-
corroboratorilyadverb
-
noncorroborativelyadverb
-
uncorroborativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
corroboratesimple
-
corroboratessimple
-
have corroboratedperfect
-
has corroboratedperfect
-
am corroboratingprogressive
-
are corroboratingprogressive
-
is corroboratingprogressive
-
have been corroboratingperfect progressive
-
has been corroboratingperfect progressive
Past
-
corroboratedsimple
-
had corroboratedperfect
-
was corroboratingprogressive
-
were corroboratingprogressive
-
had been corroboratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of corroborate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin corrōborātus, past participle of corrōborāre “to strengthen,” equivalent to cor- “with, together” + rōbor(āre) “to make strong” (derivative of rōbor, rōbur “oak” hence, “strength”) + -ātus past participle suffix; see cor-, robust, -ate 1
Compare meaning
How does corroborate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
To corroborate is to back someone else’s story. If you swear to your teacher that you didn't throw the spitball, and your friends corroborate your story by promising that you were concentrating on math homework, she might actually believe you. For example, a witness in court corroborates the testimony of others, and further experimentation can corroborate a scientific theory. Near synonyms are substantiate and confirm. Corroborate, originally meaning "to support or strengthen," was borrowed from Latin corrōborāre, formed from the prefix cor- "completely" plus rōborāre "to strengthen" (from rōbur "strength").
Vocabulary lists containing corroborate
The Crucible
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Grade 10, List 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
However, if your friend has texts, emails, voicemail messages or even notes made around the time he instructed the lawyer not to settle, those could help corroborate his account.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
“It is hardly surprising that journalists would be interested in trying to corroborate her account.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Not only can their arrival time suggest that they dwelt with other particles for a negative amount of time, but if one asks those other particles, they will corroborate the story.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Swarthmore College was recently unable to corroborate a few applications claiming an astonishing number of academic and athletic feats, said admission director Isthier Chaudhury.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Galileo now rushed to publish his discoveries, which transformed astronomy in the space of a few months—the time it took for others to acquire telescopes with which they could corroborate his findings.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
"An eyewitness account of about 20 'geese' taking flight and heading toward the river just minutes before a loud bang was heard corroborates geese in the area shortly before the crash."
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
Treasury yields fell as a slew of data corroborates U.S. inflation concerns while giving mixed signals about economic activity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
But for Dyne, Matteis believes the deal for Avidity is “highly validating,” as it corroborates the expected value of muscle-delivery technology and the attractiveness of the markets for even rare diseases like DMD.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2025
The video, plaintiff attorneys say, corroborates the case they make in a master complaint filed earlier this month: that the state allowed a “dangerous fire condition” to exist on the Lachman burn scar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2025
“It corroborates what Marietta and I found out earlier,” Louis said.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
Another witness, in his thirties, corroborated reports of an explosion.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
“They’ve then heard and seen through the news coverage that those incidents were corroborated by admissible evidence in court.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
OSC said it corroborated information from the hack with customs records, court filings and other sources.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
The BBC has corroborated a number of the women's accounts with friends and family who were told about the encounters with Leto at the time.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
The youngest of the three scientists, von Tschermak had received news of two other parallel studies that fully corroborated his results, then waded back into the scientific literature to discover Mendel.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Meanwhile, Britain’s Labour government stalled on corroborating its ally’s assertions while Labour held its annual conference and rallied to a new prime minister, Andy Burnham.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Although the law states that testimony alone is enough to issue a restraining order, she said, “undoubtedly when you have corroborating evidence, it’s a much stronger case.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
"We've had enough other corroborating data... to confirm that those vessels were clearly out there," Poling said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
As the Texas Tribune reports, “Medical providers and investigators at the time also viewed Roberson’s flat affect as corroborating his guilt. Roberson was diagnosed with autism in 2018.”
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2025
The FBI holds a press conference at the site, corroborating hearsay that a passport found at the crater belonged to Kamal Aziz, an Egyptian national.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
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.
