Word of the Day

: February 26, 2018

validate

verb VAL-uh-dayt

What It Means

1 a : to make legally valid : ratify

b : to grant official sanction to by marking

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

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

validate in Context

"Reaching home, I anxiously handed my report card to Mother. Validating my angst, she took it and reached into a battered shoebox containing the report cards of my older sister Tanja." — Charles van der Horst, The Herald-Sun (Durham, North Carolina), 6 Nov. 2017

"Recognizing outstanding teachers establishes a culture that rewards excellence in teaching and validates the work of the teacher. It gives students a sense of pride in their teachers, displays teachers as positive role models, and encourages students to think about teaching as a career." — The Yankton (South Dakota) Daily Press & Dakotan, 11 Jan. 2018

Did You Know?

Validate, confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify, and authenticate all mean to attest to the truth or validity of something. Validate implies establishing validity by authoritative affirmation or factual proof ("a hypothesis validated by experiments"). Confirm implies the removing of doubts by an authoritative statement or indisputable fact ("evidence that confirmed the reports"). Corroborate suggests the strengthening of what is already partly established ("witnesses who corroborated the story"). Substantiate implies the offering of evidence that sustains the contention ("claims that have yet to be substantiated"). Verify implies the establishing of correspondence of actual facts or details with those proposed or guessed at ("statements that have been verified"). Authenticate implies establishing genuineness by legal or official documents or expert opinion ("handwriting experts who authenticated the diaries").