demonstrate

demonstrate

verb

Definition of DEMONSTRATE

1

to gain full recognition or acceptance of <you must demonstrate your scientific thesis before a jury of your professional peers>

Synonyms demonstrate, prove, show, substantiate

Related Words attest, authenticate, bear out, document, evidence, support, sustain, uphold; confirm, corroborate, justify, validate, verify

Near Antonyms confute, discredit, invalidate, rebut, refute

Antonyms disprove

2

to show the existence or truth of by evidence <the paleontologist hopes to demonstrate that dinosaurs once existed in central Peru by unearthing the fossil evidence>

Synonyms demonstrate, document, establish, substantiate, validate

Related Words back (up), buttress, circumstantiate, corroborate; evidence, evince, record, support, uphold, witness; adduce, attest, authenticate, certify, identify; confirm, sustain, verify, vouch; clinch, nail, settle; confess, depose, testify

Near Antonyms challenge, dispute, object; allege, assume, conjecture, guess, presume, surmise, suspect

Antonyms disprove, rebut, refute

3

to make known (something abstract) through outward signs <the babysitter's actions during the emergency demonstrate beyond doubt her general dependability>

Synonyms bespeak, betray, communicate, declare, demonstrate, display, evince, expose, give away, manifest, reveal

Related Words bare, disclose, unbosom, uncloak, uncover; advertise, air, announce, blaze, broadcast, placard, proclaim, publicize, sound, trumpet; project

Near Antonyms belie, misrepresent; distort, falsify, garble, twist; camouflage, disguise; gild, gloss (over), varnish, whitewash; conceal, counterfeit, cover, hide, mask, obscure, occlude, veil

4

to make plain or understandable <a few striking facts should demonstrate the complex nature of our topic>

Synonyms clarify, clear (up), construe, demonstrate, demystify, elucidate, explicate, expound, get across, illuminate, illustrate, interpret, simplify, spell out, unriddle

Related Words decipher, decode; analyze, break down; disentangle, undo, unravel, unscramble, untangle; resolve, solve; define, specify; annotate, commentate, gloss

Near Antonyms befog, cloud; confound, confuse, obfuscate

Antonyms obscure

5

to show or make clear by using examples <the visiting physicist demonstrated very graphically several basic scientific principles>

Synonyms demonstrate, exemplify, instance

Related Words adduce, cite, mention, quote; name, specify; analyze, break down; clarify, clear (up), explain, explicate, expound; edify, elucidate, enlighten; illuminate; construe, interpret; simplify, spell out; detail, enumerate, list

Near Antonyms becloud, blur, cloud, darken, fog, muddy, obscure; confuse, perplex, puzzle