evidential
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- evidentially adverb
- nonevidential adjective
- unevidential adjective
Etymology
Origin of evidential
Explanation
Evidential is an adjective that means serving as evidence. The receipt for the stolen blue suede shoes would be evidential proof of what you paid for the shoes when you bought them from the Elvis estate. Often used as a legal term, evidential is sometimes paired with the words "proof," "burden," or "hearing." Like many legal words, this one comes from medieval Latin (in this case, evidentialis). Lop off the last two letters and you have the English word. If a Roman took an Englishman to court for lopping at the words in his language, though, he'd need to show some evidential proof that the Englishman was guilty.
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.
"A full file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, who determined the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges. Following this advice, the investigation was closed in May 2019."
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
"Consistently the advice we have received has highlighted fundamental evidential difficulties that cannot be ignored."
From BBC • Dec. 23, 2025
The senior Essex coroner, Lincoln Brookes, found "no evidential basis to consider this attack was possibly preventable so many years and imponderables later".
From BBC • Oct. 15, 2025
In his latest letter, sent to MPs, he said he was taking the "unusual" step of sharing more details because "government briefings have been provided commenting on the evidential situation".
From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025
In the same way there is nothing of evidential value in the protests of those who say that human nature cannot get along without religion.
From A Grammar of Freethought by Cohen, Chapman
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.
