evidential
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
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.
The charges were later dropped "on evidential grounds".
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
"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
However, CPS chiefs concluded the evidential test was not met in any of the cases.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
"No further action will be taken on the basis there is insufficient evidential for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction."
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2025
The habit of scientific caution was characteristic of Darwin, who at first would not write down "even the briefest sketch" of his hypothesis, but devoted nearly twenty years to the accumulation of evidential data.
From Religion and Science From Galileo to Bergson by John Charlton Hardwick
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.
