Synonyms

prove

American

[proov] / pruv /

verb (used with object)

to establish the truth or genuineness of, as by evidence or argument.

to prove one's claim.

Synonyms:

verify, substantiate, confirm, demonstrate

Antonyms:

disprove
Law. to establish the authenticity or validity of (a will); probate.
to give demonstration of by action.
to subject to a test, experiment, comparison, analysis, or the like, to determine quality, amount, acceptability, characteristics, etc..

to prove ore.
to show (oneself ) to have the character or ability expected of one, especially through one's actions.
Mathematics. to verify the correctness or validity of by mathematical demonstration or arithmetical proof.
Printing. Also to take a trial impression of (type, a cut, etc.).
to cause (dough) to rise to the necessary lightness.
Archaic. to experience.

verb (used without object)

to turn out.

The experiment proved to be successful.
to be found by trial or experience to be.

His story proved false.
(of dough) to rise to a specified lightness.

Leave covered until it has proved.

prove British

/ pruːv /

verb

(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to establish or demonstrate the truth or validity of; verify, esp by using an established sequence of procedures or statements
to establish the quality of, esp by experiment or scientific analysis
law to establish the validity and genuineness of (a will)
to show (oneself) able or courageous
(copula) to be found or shown (to be)

this has proved useless
he proved to be invaluable
printing to take a trial impression of (type, etc)
(intr) (of dough) to rise in a warm place before baking
archaic to undergo

"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

prove Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing prove

exception proves the rule

Usage

Either proved or proven is standard as the past participle of prove : Events have proved (or proven ) him wrong. As a modifier, proven is by far the more common: a proven fact.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of prove

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English proven, from Old French prover, from Latin probāre “to try, test, prove, approve,” derivative of probus “good.” See probity

Explanation

When you prove something, you show that it's true. If you say you love eating raw eggs, you may have to prove it by chugging a few. When someone asks you to prove something, you need evidence, also known as proof. Prove comes from the Latin root probare, "to test or prove worthy." The word’s meaning is clear in this quote from writer Ernest Holmes: "There was a time when a man was so convinced that the world was round that he was determined to prove it." As a transitive verb, prove requires an object to receive the action, as in "How can you prove your claim?" It can also be intransitive, as in "You might prove to be right."

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Vocabulary lists containing prove

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II

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Beowulf vocabulary

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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:

prove proves proved proven proving

While demand for crude has eased, that ultimately might not prove to be as big of a boon for consumers as many might expect.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

According to the researchers, this finding does not directly prove that digoxin is effective.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

However, Fitch in its downgrade of Delaware Life said the plan may prove “insufficient to fully address governance, reporting, and investment oversight issues.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

The World Cup and “The Odyssey” prove it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

They left the door open too for a couple of days so everybody could see the new stuff, which just went to prove, Alice said, “that there’s nobody hidden there and never was.”

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

"Triple lock is vital to ward off pensioner poverty" reads the Sunday Express's headline, adding: "Campaigners say devastating new report on plight of UK elderly proves lifeline must stay".

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Plus: Tyson plans to close another beef plant; tariff-refund process proves smoother than expected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

If the idea proves correct, these primordial black holes could offer clues to several major unanswered questions in cosmology.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

“Prosecutors frequently use DNA testing to match someone to a crime as a means of getting a guilty verdict, and they are not willing to concede that that same evidence also proves innocence.”

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

I hope the universe proves me wrong and actually comes through—for both of us.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Those doses caused heart muscle cells to contract more strongly, but that effect ultimately proved less helpful.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Mr. Lipscomb, who had proved the telegenic potential of gambling, thought legalization of sports betting was coming and urged Mr. Silver to flip the NBA’s oppositional stance and reap “a multi-billion-dollar windfall.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Wrries about competition from short-form video have proved to be unfounded, in Pershing Square’s view, and Netflix has deep enough pockets to pay for the higher compute costs that could come from long-form high-quality video.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

He was an absolute warrior for England at the World Cup and proved any doubters wrong.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

But in the end, it was the fault’s slipperiness that proved the scientific predictions wrong.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

In claiming her first senior international title, Werro has proven she is ready to rival the Briton for the sport's biggest prizes for years to come.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

“They’ve proven to be too effective at catching bass.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Weigh those cons against the things AI has reliably proven it can do – cheat on homework and write janky code – and it’s easy to understand Sanders’ urge to stand and yell “stop!”

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

So far, the move in yields has proven sticky, even in the face of economic data that might have been expected to push yields lower.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

But then the preacher had said a lot of things, most of which had proven untrue.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

Deckers Outdoor, in May, said its Ugg Zora line — which has the fluffy interior an Ugg boot in roughly the shape of a ballet shoe — was proving appealing to customers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

A niche term of art in machine-learning research, it is proving a handy metaphor for talking about growth and threatening to cross over into wider business-speak.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

McInnes is proving that he is not up to the job.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

There’s also a little bit of pride in father and son proving that talent isn’t just found at top private schools.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

As tiring as it was, he’d loved his job for what it taught him about Chicago’s complex political system and for proving that his organizing instincts could work on a larger scale.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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