testimony
Americannoun
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Law. the statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation, usually in court.
- Synonyms:
- attestation, deposition
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evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof.
- Synonyms:
- corroboration
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open declaration or profession, as of faith.
- Synonyms:
- affirmation
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Usually testimonies. the precepts of God.
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the Decalogue as inscribed on the two tablets of the law, or the ark in which the tablets were kept. Exodus 16:34; 25:16.
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Archaic. a declaration of disapproval; protest.
noun
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a declaration of truth or fact
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law evidence given by a witness, esp orally in court under oath or affirmation
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evidence testifying to something
her success was a testimony to her good luck
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Old Testament
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the Ten Commandments, as inscribed on the two stone tables
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the Ark of the Covenant as the receptacle of these (Exodus 25:16; 16:34)
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Synonym Usage
See evidence.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of testimony
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin testimōnium, equivalent to testi(s) “witness” + -mōnium noun suffix; see -mony
Explanation
When you give testimony you are telling what you saw or what you know. Your testimony that your hand was not in the cookie jar goes against the testimony of several eyewitnesses. The Latin root for testimony is testis, meaning “ witness.” “Eye witness testimony” is a phrase you will hear often in legal discussions. An object can also give testimony, without speaking of course: "The statue they built of you outside the bowling alley offers testimony to your greatness."
Vocabulary lists containing testimony
The Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
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John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961
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A Lesson Before Dying
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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:
Heat from the vehicle caused the dry brush to ignite under the car, according to testimony from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief Matt Palade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
During his two days of testimony to Congress earlier this month, Warsh was “cryptic at best” in terms of his views on interest-rate policy and inflation, said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
The newspaper had challenged the government requests for phone records of reporters and grand jury testimony as an attempt to "intimidate" the press and filed a motion to have them quashed.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The defence secretary began Tuesday's testimony by saying, "we live in a dangerous world" and that it required bold and swift action.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
It was the kind of wordless testimony of struggle and anguish I heard all the time growing up in a small rural black church.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
During one of his first congressional testimonies, Greenspan received an earful from senators after suggesting the Fed was going to have to cool down the labor market by raising rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
"There have been many testimonies and messages, and it's really nice to hear so much love, to see so much love," Deschamps added.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
RTÉ reported Laure Zoya saying how videos and witness testimonies have deeply shocked and traumatised the Congolese, African, and black communities in Ireland and internationally.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
"We want to gather all the testimonies and evidence we can to document this and have a complete case. We can't be silent about what happened," she said.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
These would be oak chests and cupboards with Gothic panelling and strange faces of men or angels—or devils—carved darkly upon them, black, bees-waxed, worm-eaten and shiny—gloomy testimonies to the old life in their coffinlike solidity.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
