testify

[tes-tuh-fahy]

verb (used without object)

testified, testifying 

1. to bear witness; give or afford evidence.

2. Law.,  to give testimony under oath or solemn affirmation, usually in court.

3. to make solemn declaration.

verb (used with object)

testified, testifying 

1. to bear witness to; affirm as fact or truth; attest.

2. to give or afford evidence of in any manner.

   Synonyms: prove, signify, show, indicate

3. Law.,  to state or declare under oath or affirmation, usually in court.

4. to declare, profess, or acknowledge openly.

testify

/ ˈtɛstɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to state (something) formally as a declaration of fact

   I testify that I know nothing about him

2. law to declare or give (evidence) under oath, esp in court

3. to be evidence (of); serve as witness (to)

   the money testified to his good faith

4. (tr) to declare or acknowledge openly

Other Word Forms

• testifier noun
• pretestify verb (used with object)
• retestify verb
• untestifying adjective
• testification noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of testify¹

1350–1400; Middle English testifyen < Latin testificārī to bear witness, equivalent to testi ( s ) witness + -ficārī -fy

Word History and Origins

Origin of testify¹

C14: from Latin testificārī, from testis witness

Example Sentences

Quinn is now the executive director of the American Policyholder Association, an insurance watchdog, and he testifies before Congress and other lawmakers about how the insurance industry too often undercuts policyholders.

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At the time, Michaelis was already testifying at government hearings about fume events.

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Roughly 20 children testified in the abuse case, offering sometimes contradictory accounts of what happened.

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The two-page indictment accused Comey of lying when he testified in 2020 that he hadn’t authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports regarding an investigation into “Person 1.”

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An expert witness for the bank testified the barrels will be “very, very, very difficult to sell,” Everett said.

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Related Words

• announce 
• argue 
• assert 
• declare 
• depose 
• indicate 
• swear