substantiate

verb

sub·​stan·​ti·​ate səb-ˈstan(t)-shē-ˌāt 

substantiated; substantiating

transitive verb

1

: to give substance or form to : embody

2

: to establish by proof or competent evidence : verify

substantiate a charge

substantiation

səb-ˌstan(t)-shē-ˈā-shən 

noun

substantiative

səb-ˈstan(t)-shē-ˌā-tiv 

adjective

Synonyms

• demonstrate
• establish
• prove
• show

Choose the Right Synonym for substantiate

confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify, authenticate, validate mean to attest to the truth or validity of something.

confirm implies the removing of doubts by an authoritative statement or indisputable fact.

confirmed the reports

corroborate suggests the strengthening of what is already partly established.

witnesses corroborated his story

substantiate implies the offering of evidence that sustains the contention.

the claims have yet to be substantiated

verify implies the establishing of correspondence of actual facts or details with those proposed or guessed at.

all statements of fact in the article have been verified

authenticate implies establishing genuineness by adducing legal or official documents or expert opinion.

handwriting experts authenticated the diaries

validate implies establishing validity by authoritative affirmation or by factual proof.

validated the hypothesis by experiments

Examples of substantiate in a Sentence

substantiated his claim to local mountaineering fame with a photo of himself on the summit of Mount McKinley

Mr. MacGregor couldn't substantiate that it was Peter, and not some other rabbit, in the cabbage patch.

Recent Examples on the Web

Eight allegations against Eisenberg were substantiated as racist, sexist, ageist, abusive conduct and improper direction to staff. —Nollyanne Delacruz, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024

Almeida’s apparent possession of a firearm was enough to substantiate initial federal criminal charges against him, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms took him into custody following a November 2021 raid on the Queens apartment. —Ali Winston, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2024

Though claims of such voter fraud have seldom been substantiated, they are accepted as a matter of faith, and are therefore highly motivating, to many in the GOP. —Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2024

The specter of surveillance and hate looms large for people like Abu-Rayyan, who was ultimately sentenced to five years in prison — including many months in solitary confinement — even though the terrorism charges were never substantiated. —Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024

No other evidence was provided by The Times to substantiate the claim. —Oliver Darcy, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024

This skepticism is substantiated by the ZipRecruiter survey, which surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. employers between July and August, and pegged employee monitoring as the primary concern in remote work scenarios. —Gleb Tsipursky, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2023

According to the complaint, Musk’s termination letters to some of the executives explained that the source of their misconduct was a failure to cooperate with a government or internal investigation of Twitter, but the letters did not substantiate those allegations. —Brian Fung, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024

Prosecutors did not say whether Smirnov's claims about the apparent ties to Russian intelligence have ever been substantiated. —Robert Legare, CBS News, 20 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

substantiate

verb

sub·​stan·​ti·​ate səb-ˈstan-chē-ˌāt 

substantiated; substantiating

1

: to give substance or form to : embody

2

: to establish by proof or evidence

substantiate a claim

substantiation

-ˌstan-chē-ˈā-shən 

noun