witnessing

present participle of witness
1
as in attesting
to declare (something) to be true or genuine a notary public witnessing wills and other important documents

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2
3
as in testifying
to make a solemn declaration under oath for the purpose of establishing a fact I witnessed to the fact that I had seen them together that night

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4
as in experiencing
to come to a knowledge of (something) by living through it war changes anyone who has ever witnessed it first hand

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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 witnessing Considering how close Canadian fans were to witnessing Ohtani's greatness regularly, their strife and pain are understandable. Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025 The thobe is no longer preserving culture, but evolving it, in a way that mirrors the moment Saudi is witnessing. Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 24 Oct. 2025 In Mutiny, after witnessing his billionaire boss’ murder and being framed for the crime, Cole Reed (Statham) boards a cargo ship on a one-man crusade to avenge his boss’ death only to discover an international conspiracy. Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2025 Regardless of who was responsible for the crowd’s behavior — and contrary to university spokesperson Lewis saying there were no injuries — students in attendance reported experiencing bruises, cuts, breathing problems and asthma attacks and witnessing others seriously bleeding. Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2025 In Kenya, retreat to ultra-luxury safari tents overlooking the vast savannah after days spent witnessing the Great Migration and Big Five game drives. Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 21 Oct. 2025 Link and Jimenez’s 11-year-old son also testified about witnessing Jimenez beating his mother. Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2025 One of the joys of reviewing movies is witnessing a longtime filmmaker’s artistic breakthrough, as has happened with Kelly Reichardt. Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2025 Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, witnessing civil rights events such as the March on Washington, left an impression on her. Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for witnessing
Verb
  • Maybe so—and a coming wave of insider stories attesting to Weiss’s difficulties in asserting her authority strikes me as the most inevitable outcome of this affair.
    Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
  • This includes employers attesting, via the Department of Labor, that a prospective H-1B worker won’t affect wages and labor conditions of similar American workers, USCIS said.
    Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • What researchers actually discovered is a small asteroid following Earth’s orbit, one that’s been traveling alongside us for decades without anyone noticing.
    Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2025
  • But the smart ones were noticing.
    Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Meta motioned to stop Zuckerberg and Mosseri from testifying at the trial and argued for plaintiffs to use previous trial testimony.
    Samantha Subin, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Rivera, a former gang leader of the Latin Kings, is serving 19 years after testifying against his co-defendants.
    Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Saudi Arabia is experiencing its own boom and is projected to attract 2,400 high-net-worth individuals in 2025, an 800% increase from 2024.
    Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Haiti and parts of the Dominican Republic, which have already experiencing flooding, could also see life-threatening flash floods and landslides from the slow-moving system.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Through several calculations of length, width, and depth, Manzur achieves these different sizes while guaranteeing that each basin can hold an equivalent volume of water.
    Mario Rodriguez, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The suites' signature amenity is the round-the-clock butler service, guaranteeing guests access to exclusive events, tours, and restaurants in the city.
    David Morris, Travel + Leisure, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In his eight wins, all eight have come inside the distance, with only two fights seeing a second round.
    Brett Appley, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Looking forward to seeing Becks on our plane ride home.
    Lydia Mee, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • After undergoing multiple hip surgeries, including a total replacement, his fiancée was largely absent.
    Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Embiid has been battling chronic knee injuries, which resulted in him undergoing a meniscus repair in his left knee back in February of 2024, and then going through arthroscopic surgery a year later.
    Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • He has been criticized for making unscientific and misleading statements, including COVID-19 misinformation and promoting conspiracy theories, and affirming antisemitic, racist, and transphobic comments.
    Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
  • In fact, this is far from the first time cis people have leapt to gender-affirming care.
    Quispe López, Them., 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Witnessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/witnessing. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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