witness
to see, hear, or know by personal presence and perception: to witness an accident.
to be present at (an occurrence) as a formal witness, spectator, bystander, etc.: She witnessed our wedding.
to bear witness to; testify to; give or afford evidence of.
to attest by one's signature: He witnessed her will.
to bear witness; testify; give or afford evidence.
an individual who, being present, personally sees or perceives a thing; a beholder, spectator, or eyewitness.
a person or thing that affords evidence.
a person who gives testimony, as in a court of law.
a person who signs a document attesting the genuineness of its execution.
testimony or evidence: to bear witness to her suffering.
(initial capital letter) a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Origin of witness
1synonym study For witness
Other words for witness
Other words from witness
- wit·ness·a·ble, adjective
- wit·ness·er, noun
- pre·wit·ness, noun, verb (used with object)
- self-wit·ness, noun
- self-wit·nessed, adjective
- well-wit·nessed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use witness in a sentence
The team, he said, is evaluating whether the DNA samples are sufficient, whether the DNA sample is significant from an evidence perspective and if witnesses to the crime are still able to testify.
Prince George’s will use DNA registries to solve cold cases through new DOJ grant | Katie Mettler | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostThat evidence would be reserved for the courtroom, Giuliani said, saying that he didn’t want his purported witnesses to face media scrutiny.
Just because an attempt to steal an election is ludicrous and ham-handed doesn’t mean it can’t work | Philip Bump | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostThe passage of time, though, generally makes cases weaker as witness memories fade, and there is no guarantee that higher-ups in a new administration would view the facts differently from Rosen.
Senior Justice Dept. official stalled probe against former interior secretary Ryan Zinke, sources say | Juliet Eilperin, Matt Zapotosky | November 12, 2020 | Washington PostInvestigators are examining evidence and interviewing witnesses to determine what happened.
One juvenile killed, another wounded in Fairfax County shootings | Justin Jouvenal, Dana Hedgpeth | November 11, 2020 | Washington PostIf the new commission existed at the time it reviewed that shooting, it would have had the power to subpoena those documents and witnesses itself.
Voters Approved a Much Tougher Police Oversight Board – Now What? | Sara Libby | November 5, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
They witnessed and experienced the same types of abusive events, Fenner claims.
Chernon Bah, co-founder of A World at School, was alarmed by what she witnessed recently in Sierra Leone.
Old age is the saddest and rarest way to go; I witnessed it only once.
Instead, it would return European civilization back to a period of darkness not witnessed since the Middle Ages.
On Tuesday, the group witnessed a convoy of 43 unmarked green military trucks with tarpaulin covers moving towards Donetsk.
Thousands of Putin’s Troops Now in Ukraine, Analysts Say | Shane Harris | November 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMoreover, most of the burrows were only a few feet apart and no agonistic behavior was witnessed.
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula | Erwin E. KlaasNever before in human experience had such a display of kindly feeling and profound regret been witnessed in similar circumstances.
The Giant of the North | R.M. BallantyneNever had the black population of the city listened to or witnessed a more eloquent appeal.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxCouldn't say much at inquest, or didn't; was asked if he witnessed accident; said 'No,' but some still think he did.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodModern times, we are convinced, have witnessed but few instances of such a masterly policy, combined with signal self-reliance.
British Dictionary definitions for witness
/ (ˈwɪtnɪs) /
a person who has seen or can give first-hand evidence of some event
a person or thing giving or serving as evidence
a person who testifies, esp in a court of law, to events or facts within his own knowledge
a person who attests to the genuineness of a document, signature, etc, by adding his own signature
bear witness
to give written or oral testimony
to be evidence or proof of: Related adjective: testimonial
(tr) to see, be present at, or know at first hand
to give or serve as evidence (of)
(tr) to be the scene or setting of: this field has witnessed a battle
(intr) to testify, esp in a court of law, to events within a person's own knowledge
(tr) to attest to the genuineness of (a document, signature, etc) by adding one's own signature
Origin of witness
1Derived forms of witness
- witnessable, adjective
- witnesser, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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