validity

noun

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va·lid·i·ty | \ və-ˈli-də-tē

, va- \

Definition of validity

: the quality or state of being valid: such as

a : the state of being acceptable according to the law The validity of the contract is being questioned. What the federal courts have ruled … is that renunciations made behind barbed wire were essentially under duress, and thus of no legal validity.— Roger Daniels

b : the quality of being well-grounded, sound, or correct the validity of an argument/theory Other researchers have questioned the validity of the test results. Later he acknowledged that there was no validity to his report.— David Hiltbrand

Examples of validity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Further, the fact that these emotions were faked would raise questions about the validity of the results. — Kate Crawford, The Atlantic, "Why We Shouldn’t Trust AI to Tell Us What We Feel," 27 Apr. 2021 But, basically, Republican state senators still have questions about the validity of the general election results in Maricopa County. — Jen Fifield, The Arizona Republic, "Answers to your questions about the Arizona Senate's audit of 2020 election results in Maricopa County," 27 Apr. 2021 This country has had robust debates for centuries now about the validity of a strong federal system or sending the power back to the states. — Philip Elliott, Time, "Think the System Is Broken? You’re Not Alone," 31 Mar. 2021 Does the fact that Trevor Lawrence and three Clemson defensive starters missed the first meeting invite more scrutiny about the validity of that win? — Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, "Opinion: Hey, College Football Playoff committee, put Cincinnati in the semifinals," 20 Dec. 2020 And once the counting began, the Trump campaign and the president’s allies pursued other tactics to slow or stop the count and seed doubt about the validity of the results. — Nick Corasaniti, New York Times, "Behind Trump’s Yearslong Effort to Turn Losing Into Winning," 15 Nov. 2020 But there are many questions about the validity of such analyses. — NBC News, "FDA panel rejects Biogen's new Alzheimer's drug," 6 Nov. 2020 This is a trust utterly abused by fringe figures, who present qualifications as a proxy for scientific validity. — David Robert Grimes, Scientific American, "COVID Has Created a Perfect Storm for Fringe Science," 26 Apr. 2021 So far, state officials have counted 1,188,073 valid signatures and the validity rate has been high: nearly 82%. — Zachary B. Wolf And Maeve Reston, CNN, "What Caitlyn Jenner's launch means for the brewing California recall," 24 Apr. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'validity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.