probative

[ proh-buh-tiv, prob-uh- ]

/ ˈproʊ bə tɪv, ˈprɒb ə- /

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adjective

serving or designed for testing or trial.

affording proof or evidence.

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Also pro·ba·to·ry

[proh-buh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]. /ˈproʊ bəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/.

Origin of probative

1425–75; late Middle English <Middle French probatif<Latin probātīvus of proof. See probate, -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM probative

pro·ba·tive·ly, adverbnon·pro·ba·tive, adjectivenon·pro·ba·to·ry, adjectiveun·pro·ba·tive, adjective

Words nearby probative

probation, probationary, probationary assistant, probationer, probation officer, probative, probe, probenecid, probie, probiotic, probit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use probative in a sentence

Can we eagerly look forward to academic investigation of vampires or probative studies of alien abductions?
Sorry Bigfoot Truthers: Yetis Aren’t Real|Elizabeth Picciuto|July 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Quintilian has less faith in the probative value of fictitious examples than he has in those drawn from authentic history.
Rhetoric and Poetry in the Renaissance|Donald Lemen Clark
Ap′probatory, Ap′probative, of or belonging to one who approves.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various
Let a sufficient amount of probative evidence be addressed to the eye, the act of believing must follow.
The Gospel of St. John|Frederick Denison Maurice

The second clause, relating to instances in which the phenomenon is absent, depends for its probative force upon Prop.
Logic|Carveth Read
Certainly, there seems to be some illusion in the common belief in the probative force of prediction.
Logic|Carveth Read

British Dictionary definitions for probative

probative

probatory (ˈprəʊbətərɪ, -trɪ)

/ (ˈprəʊbətɪv) /

adjective

serving to test or designed for testing

providing proof or evidence

Derived forms of probative

probatively, adverb

Word Origin for probative

C15: from Late Latin probātīvus concerning proof

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