validate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
validates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
validated,
past participle, past
-
validating
present participle
-
to make valid; substantiate; confirm.
Time validated our suspicions.
- Synonyms:
- prove, verify, authenticate
- Antonyms:
- disprove
-
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
-
to confirm or corroborate
-
to give legal force or official confirmation to; declare legally valid
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
validationnoun
-
validatornoun
-
revalidateverb (used with object)
-
unvalidatedadjective
-
unvalidatingadjective
-
validatoryadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
validatesimple
-
validatessimple
-
have validatedperfect
-
has validatedperfect
-
am validatingprogressive
-
are validatingprogressive
-
is validatingprogressive
-
have been validatingperfect progressive
-
has been validatingperfect progressive
Past
-
validatedsimple
-
had validatedperfect
-
was validatingprogressive
-
were validatingprogressive
-
had been validatingperfect progressive
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The New SAT: The Language of the Test
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
“Robotaxi scaling appears well positioned, with the limited Cybercab test fleet continuing to validate the technology,” J.P.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
That’s because a team of on-site craftsmen must work hands-on with them to validate the designs and make sure everything looks and feels up to snuff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
A £500 deposit is also required to validate their candidacy, which they only get back if they achieve more than 5% of the vote share.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
There is not a speck of evidence to validate that theory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Grand visions, even ones that prove as prescient as Washington’s, must nevertheless negotiate the damnable particularities that history in the short run tosses up before history in the long run arrives to validate the vision.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
“Every flight validates assumptions and uncovers opportunities for improvement.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
"This important certification validates the rigor of our airplane's design and recognizes the determination and resilience of our 737 MAX development team," said Stephanie Pope, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Though she said the win validates her decision to come to Glasgow, she defended the decision of others to withdraw.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
“The Anthropic lease validates our strategy and establishes a long-duration revenue stream with one of the world’s leading AI companies,” TeraWulf CEO Paul Prager said in a statement.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
If you have a heterogeneous class make up of many different ethnicities, abilities, races, providing activities validates who they are as people, and sends a message that their voices are valued.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
In the 1990s, Sandra Scarr provided research that partially validated and expanded on Winnicott’s ideas.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
He said that with closed-circuit cameras everywhere, any allegation of a security breach easily can be validated or disproved.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Unlike traditional computers, where outputs can be validated by running the same problem on other computers, some quantum computer outputs push beyond the limits of what classical computers can verify.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Over the weekend, an uneasy ceasefire established itself across the Persian Gulf, suggesting Signum’s theories had been borne out and validated by events.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
He has a zealous smile on his face, like he’s just been validated.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
“These conversations consistently help,” he told me, “by either validating a decision I’m leaning toward or giving me a completely fresh perspective.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Layla says she has always given herself a hard time for not "coming up to scratch" but that taking part in the research project has felt "validating and freeing".
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
"The next steps will involve validating these findings in animal models of early post-traumatic osteoarthritis and studying how ultrasound-based modulation affects long-term tissue repair in joint injury settings," Subramanian says.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
The conflict has functioned as an accelerated stress test, compressing years of operational learning into months and validating or refuting assumptions about real-world system performance.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
This turned out to be the big revelation for me about counseling: No validating went on.
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.
