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
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.
The company provides hardware, software, and services needed to develop, validate, and manufacture different technologies.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
"These are all the lies I am not going to validate," she says.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
Hoskins has until late July to validate the petition, while Missouri’s primary is on Aug. 4.
From Slate • May 14, 2026
"Further evidence is necessary before they can be implemented in clinical practice. Should future large-scale or randomized controlled trials validate this relationship, incorporating simple behavioral assessments could become a valuable component in optimizing treatment strategies."
From Science Daily • May 7, 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
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.
