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direct evidence

American

noun

evidence of a witness who testifies to the truth of the fact to be proved (contrasted with circumstantial evidence).

direct evidence British

noun

law evidence, usually the testimony of a witness, directly relating to the fact in dispute Compare circumstantial evidence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

"It's extremely satisfying to have direct evidence to solve this mystery at long last!"

From Science Daily • May 1, 2026

Scientists had misunderstood the jugal bone in snakes and snake relatives for generations, and the Najash fossils gave them direct evidence to correct the record.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2026

And no fossil has yet been found with stomach contents that would offer direct evidence of what they were dining on.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

Parnell demanded Financial Times retract the report, but did not provide direct evidence that the report was false.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

It would give physicists the first direct evidence that the big bang was correct and that steady state was wrong.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023