substantiating 1 of 2

as in supporting
serving to give support to the truth or factualness of something without some substantiating evidence, such as a stub from a bus ticket, who's going to believe your alibi?

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substantiating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of substantiate
1
as in proving
to gain full recognition or acceptance of substantiated his claim to local mountaineering fame with a photo of himself on the summit of Mount McKinley

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3
4
5
as in reinforcing
to provide evidence or information for (as a claim or idea) Darwin spent the rest of his life gathering evidence to substantiate his theory of the origin of species

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of substantiating
Verb
Made in Filo therefore demonstrates possible applications for exhibitors’ materials rather than substantiating their environmental or technical claims. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026 In his report, Prescott said there is evidence substantiating the claim that Rodriguez-Mendez was extorting Guaranda. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026 There is no public evidence substantiating the rumors referenced in the online posts. — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 21 July 2026 The lawsuit claims that, in letters sent in April, the school district reported investigating the incidents and substantiating the events. — Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2026 Trump, without substantiating, claimed that the FBI actually ushered rioters inside the Capitol and that the individuals only pleaded guilty out of fear of getting harsher sentences. — Chad De Guzman, Time, 8 June 2026 The minimum proof would be a letter from a physician explaining the condition and substantiating the claim. — Elliot Raphaelson, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026 Because pain is so subjective—and because of the difficulty in substantiating conditions such as whiplash and soft-tissue damage—surgery had the benefit not just of running up the clinical expense of an accident but also of seeming to ratify its legitimacy. — Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 Federal officials have declined to provide critical details substantiating their claim that an agent shot ICU nurse Alex Pretti in self-defense. — Tricia Escobedo, CNN Money, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for substantiating
Adjective
  • The incredible supporting cast is made up entirely of old-hand character actors, promising but underknown newcomers, and comedy- or comedy-adjacent figures with passionate niche followings and Gumby-esque limbs.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 17 June 2026
  • Some went after Cashman, some after Boone, some after Steinbrenner’s son Hal, and some after Aaron Judge’s non-supporting cast.
    — Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The current focus is on proving that nanoscale NMR can achieve the sensitivity needed for meaningful chemical detection.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The second challenge is proving that the specific drugs caused the death.
    — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Workers also assembled the parts in a trial run, verifying that every component matches the blueprints.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Around the same time, OpenAI researcher Boris Alexeev managed to formalize the proof, verifying its correctness step-by-step using the programming language Lean.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 24 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Something is broken inside the Hail Mary, so the player, embodying Grace, has to check for the warning lights and, really, anything that looks off.
    — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Jenny Lê, the flagship’s head of operations, has become the nucleus of the store, embodying the essence of discipline, intention and collaboration that has been there from the very beginning.
    — Michael Anthony Hall, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Coach Saban focused his testimony on the importance of establishing a consistent national framework to end the current era of differing waivers and local rulings that has created uncertainty throughout college athletics.
    — The Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026
  • But Doha had succeeded in establishing itself as an indispensable player in the region’s politics.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Tuesday that soldiers from an engineering regiment were reinforcing border guard infrastructure along the Polish-Ukrainian frontier.
    — Anna Noryskiewicz, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Leaders are responsible for modeling those behaviors, setting clear expectations and reinforcing them through coaching and feedback.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • The cast, who had been supportive of Paul’s controversy and mental-health struggles before the cancellation, were appalled at a video leaked in March of Paul throwing a stool at her ex, Dakota Mortensen, that almost hit her young daughter.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The biggest lift came when a manager joined a sales teams dealing with new customers – and assumed a supportive role rather than taking a lead.
    — Daniel E. Chavez, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The findings therefore point specifically to an association with birthweight rather than demonstrating that rare earth exposure causes restricted fetal growth.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Yet there remains a sense of remove in the production’s perpetual excitement at demonstrating just how well its own analog works.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Substantiating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/substantiating. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

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