validate

verb

val·​i·​date ˈva-lə-ˌdāt 

validated; validating

transitive verb

1

a

: to make legally valid : ratify

b

: to grant official sanction to by marking

validated her passport

c

: to confirm the validity of (an election)

also : to declare (a person) elected

2

a

: to support or corroborate on a sound or authoritative basis

experiments designed to validate the hypothesis

b

: to recognize, establish, or illustrate the worthiness or legitimacy of

validate his concerns

validator

ˈva-lə-ˌdā-tər 

noun

Did you know?

When validate first entered the language in the mid-17th century, its meaning was tied fast to its close relative, the adjective valid: to validate something, such as a marriage or treaty, was to make it legally valid. This meaning is still current, but the word is now used in nonlegal and informal contexts. If the museum you visit validates your parking ticket, the museum official marks the ticket and you do not have to pay for parking. If someone's claims cannot be validated, those claims cannot be confirmed. And if a coach puts an untested player into the game and the player scores the winning point, the player's strong performance validates the coach's decision.  

Synonyms

• argue
• attest
• authenticate
• bear out
• certify
• confirm
• corroborate
• substantiate
• support
• verify
• vindicate

Choose the Right Synonym for validate

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 validate in a Sentence

The court validated the contract.

A judge still needs to validate the election.

Customs officers validated our passports.

The decline in sales only validated our concerns.

Recent Examples on the Web

But her concerns were validated shortly after when the woman told Jasmine Gino had a secret Bachelor Party at a strip club, just one day before Jasmine moved to America. —Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023

This is how pop stars validate the unconscionable — from selfishness to degeneracy and crime. —Armond White, National Review, 15 Nov. 2023

Whenever possible, demonstrate that the research has been done to validate the recommendation without showing the research in detail—unless asked to do so. 4. —Mark Nevins, Forbes, 12 Nov. 2023

The complaint alleged that Fairfax County general registrar and director of elections Eric Spicer incorrectly validated St. John Cunning’s petition for candidacy — which requires interested candidates to submit at least 125 petition signatures. —Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023

The credulous press dutifully runs with those figures, or relies on international organizations that operate in Gaza under Hamas’s editorial control to validate the terrorist group’s claims. —The Editors, National Review, 3 Nov. 2023

The spacecraft’s good performance during a flyby of Earth last fall validated this decision, but the unlatched array could cause the spacecraft—and its instruments—to shake more than planned while performing flyby observations, potentially lowering the quality of Lucy’s data. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2023

Few of these efforts have been validated by the MRC, though some of Comscore’s and iSpot’s work has been examined and is in the process of being audited. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 27 Oct. 2023

Even recent developments have seemed to validate such concerns. —Isabelle Khurshudyan, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin validātus, past participle of validāre "to make valid," derivative of Latin validus "in good health, having legal authority" — more at valid

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

validate

verb

val·​i·​date ˈval-ə-ˌdāt 

validated; validating

: to make valid

validation

ˌval-ə-ˈdā-shən

noun

Legal Definition

validate

transitive verb

val·​i·​date ˈva-lə-ˌdāt 

validated; validating

1

a

: to make valid

b

: to grant official sanction to by marking

2

: to confirm the validity of (an election)

validation

ˌva-lə-ˈdā-shən 

noun