witness

[ wit-nis ]

/ ˈwɪt nɪs /

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See synonyms for: witness / witnessed / witnesses / witnessing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

to bear witness; testify; give or afford evidence.

noun

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR witness

1 perceive, watch, mark, notice, note.

10 proof, confirmation, substantiation.

See synonyms for witness on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of witness

First recorded before 950; (noun) Middle English, Old English witnes originally, “knowledge, understanding”; see wit¹, -ness; (verb) Middle English, derivative of the noun

synonym study for witness

1. See observe.

OTHER WORDS FROM witness

wit·ness·a·ble, adjectivewit·ness·er, nounpre·wit·ness, noun, verb (used with object)self-witness, noun

self-witnessed, adjectivewell-witnessed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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 Post
That 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 Post
The 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 Post
Investigators 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 Post

If 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.
Beaten By His Church for Being Gay|Justin Jones|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chernon Bah, co-founder of A World at School, was alarmed by what she witnessed recently in Sierra Leone.
The Radio Battle to Educate Ebola’s Kids|Abby Haglage|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Old age is the saddest and rarest way to go; I witnessed it only once.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison|Daniel Genis|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, it would return European civilization back to a period of darkness not witnessed since the Middle Ages.
How WWI Produced the Holocaust|J.P. O’Malley|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Moreover, most of the burrows were only a few feet apart and no agonistic behavior was witnessed.
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula|Erwin E. Klaas
Never 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. Ballantyne
Never had the black population of the city listened to or witnessed a more eloquent appeal.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
Couldn'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 Wood
Modern times, we are convinced, have witnessed but few instances of such a masterly policy, combined with signal self-reliance.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for witness

witness

/ (ˈwɪtnɪs) /

noun

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 ofRelated adjective: testimonial

verb

(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 ofthis 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

Derived forms of witness

witnessable, adjectivewitnesser, noun

Word Origin for witness

Old English witnes (meaning both testimony and witness), from witan to know, wit ² + -ness; related to Old Norse vitni

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

witness

OTHER WORDS FOR witness

Origin of witness

synonym study for witness

OTHER WORDS FROM witness

Words related to witness

How to use witness in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for witness

Derived forms of witness

Word Origin for witness