validate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make valid; substantiate; confirm.
Time validated our suspicions.
- Synonyms:
- prove, verify, authenticate
- Antonyms:
- disprove
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to give legal force to; legalize.
-
to give official sanction, confirmation, or approval to, as elected officials, election procedures, documents, etc..
to validate a passport.
verb
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to confirm or corroborate
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to give legal force or official confirmation to; declare legally valid
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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validatornoun
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revalidateverb (used with object)
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validatoryadjective
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unvalidatingadjective
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unvalidatedadjective
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validationnoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have validatedperfect
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has validatedperfect 3rd person singular
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are validatingprogressive
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has been validatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am validatingprogressive 1st person singular
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validatingparticiple
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have been validatingperfect progressive
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validatessingular 3rd person
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is validatingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had validatedperfect
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had been validatingperfect progressive
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was validatingprogressive singular
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were validatingprogressive plural
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validatedparticiple
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validatedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of validate
First recorded in 1640–50; from Medieval Latin validātus (past participle of validāre “to make valid”), equivalent to valid- ( see valid) + -ātus past participle suffix ( see -ate 1)
Explanation
To validate is to prove that something is based on truth or fact, or is acceptable. It can also mean to make something, like a contract, legal. You may need someone to validate your feelings, which means that you want to hear, “No, you’re not crazy. It’s acceptable to be angry about that.” Or you may need someone to validate your parking ticket — which means you have to prove that you bought something, so you can get parking for free. Whatever it is you are seeking to validate needs the added support or action from someone else to make it valid.
Vocabulary lists containing validate
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
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The New SAT: The Language of the Test
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The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 3
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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.
While Baron Partners claims to have just under 30% of its money invested in SpaceX, Musk’s company is still privately owned, and there is no clear way to validate that number.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
He asked the community for continued patience over the next few hours as crews worked to validate the initial data they were seeing regarding temperature stabilization.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Oklo has worked with Los Alamos National Laboratory to validate the reactor’s design, which recycles nuclear waste into energy, using surplus plutonium from the federal stockpile.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
"These are all the lies I am not going to validate," she says.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
My assumption was that he would hear what Barack and I had to say and then instantly validate all my grievances.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
