con·firm (k n-fûrm )tr.v. con·firmed, con·firm·ing, con·firms 1. To support or establish the certainty or validity of; verify. 2. To make firmer; strengthen: Working on the campaign confirmed her intention to go into politics. 3. To make valid or binding by a formal or legal act; ratify. 4. To administer the religious rite of confirmation to.
[Middle English confirmen, from Old French confermer, from Latin c nfirm re : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + firm re, to strengthen (from firmus, strong; see dher- in Indo-European roots).]
con·firm a·bil i·ty n. con·firm a·ble adj. con·firm a·to ry (-fûr m -tôr , -t r ) adj. con·firm er n. Synonyms: confirm, corroborate, substantiate, authenticate, validate, verify These verbs mean to affirm the truth, accuracy, or genuineness of something. Confirm implies removal of all doubt: "We must never make experiments to confirm our ideas, but simply to control them" (Claude Bernard). Corroborate refers to supporting something by means of strengthening evidence: The witness is expected to corroborate the plaintiff's testimony. To substantiate is to establish by presenting substantial or tangible evidence: "one of the most fully substantiated of historical facts" (James Harvey Robinson). Authenticate implies the establishment of genuineness of something by the testimony of an expert: Never purchase an antique before it has been authenticated. Validate refers to establishing the validity of something, such as a theory, claim, or judgment: The divorce validated my parents' original objection to the marriage. Verify implies proving by comparison with an original or with established fact: The bank refused to cash the check until the signature was verified. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Adj. | 1. | confirmable - capable of being tested (verified or falsified) by experiment or observationempirical, empiric - derived from experiment and observation rather than theory; "an empirical basis for an ethical theory"; "empirical laws"; "empirical data"; "an empirical treatment of a disease about which little is known" |
How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|