well-founded

American

[wel-foun-did] / ˈwɛlˈfaʊn dɪd /

adjective

having a foundation in fact; based on good reasons, information, etc..

well-founded suspicions.

well-founded British

adjective

having good grounds

well-founded rumours

"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

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.

See Examples For:

well-founded

I normally admire Mr. Galston’s columns, as his arguments are usually clear-eyed and logically well-founded.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 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

SNAPE: I’d say that the rumors of Hogwarts’s beloved Scorpion King losing his mind are well-founded.

From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023