well-founded
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of well-founded
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75
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.
When early EVs hit the market, buyers’ concerns were well-founded.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
But most current estimates of future inflation fall within a narrow range, giving us at least some confidence that the real yields based on those estimates are well-founded.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026
To be eligible for asylum, a non-citizen had to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country due to their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
And those concerns turned out to be all too well-founded.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2025
To insist that the issue of validity must be separated from the issue of credibility is to insist that well-founded beliefs be treated as if they are unfounded beliefs.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
