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witness
(redirected from witnessed)

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
wit·ness  (wtns)
n.
1.
a. One who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced: a witness to the accident.
b. One who furnishes evidence.
2. Something that serves as evidence; a sign.
3. Law
a. One who is called on to testify before a court.
b. One who is called on to be present at a transaction in order to attest to what takes place.
c. One who signs one's name to a document for the purpose of attesting to its authenticity.
4. An attestation to a fact, statement, or event; testimony.
5.
a. One who publicly affirms religious faith.
b. Witness A member of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
v. wit·nessed, wit·ness·ing, wit·ness·es
v.tr.
1.
a. To be present at or have personal knowledge of.
b. To take note of; observe.
2. To provide or serve as evidence of. See Synonyms at indicate.
3. To testify to; bear witness.
4. To be the setting or site of: This old auditorium has witnessed many ceremonies.
5. To attest to the legality or authenticity of by signing one's name to.
v.intr.
1. To furnish or serve as evidence; testify.
2. To testify to one's religious beliefs.

[Middle English, from Old English, from wit, knowledge; see wit1.]

witness·er n.

witness
Noun
1. a person who has seen or can give first-hand evidence of some event: the only witness to a killing
2. a person who gives evidence in a court of law: a witness for the defence
3. a person who confirms the genuineness of a document or signature by adding his or her own signature
4. evidence proving or supporting something: the Church of England, that historic witness to the power of the Christian faith
5. bear witness to to be evidence or proof of: the high turn-out bore witness to the popularity of the contest
Verb
1. to see, be present at, or know at first hand: I have witnessed many motor-racing accidents
2. to be the scene or setting of: the 1970s witnessed an enormous increase in international lending
3. to confirm the genuineness of (a document or signature) by adding one's own signature
4. witness to Formal to confirm: our aim is to witness to the fact of the empty tomb [Old English witnes]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.witness - someone who sees an event and reports what happened
beholder, observer, perceiver, percipient - a person who becomes aware (of things or events) through the senses
attester, attestant - someone who affirms or vouches for the correctness or truth or genuineness of something
speaker, talker, verbaliser, verbalizer, utterer - someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous); "the speaker at commencement"; "an utterer of useful maxims"
deponent, deposer, testifier - a person who testifies or gives a deposition
2.witnesswitness - a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind); "the spectators applauded the performance"; "television viewers"; "sky watchers discovered a new star"
beholder, observer, perceiver, percipient - a person who becomes aware (of things or events) through the senses
browser - a viewer who looks around casually without seeking anything in particular
bystander - a nonparticipant spectator
cheerer - a spectator who shouts encouragement
eyewitness - a spectator who can describe what happened
gawker - a spectator who stares stupidly without intelligent awareness
motion-picture fan, moviegoer - someone who goes to see movies
ogler - a viewer who gives a flirtatious or lewd look at another person
looker-on, onlooker - someone who looks on
playgoer, theatergoer, theatregoer - someone who attends the theater
rubbernecker, rubberneck - a person who stares inquisitively
spy - a secret watcher; someone who secretly watches other people; "my spies tell me that you had a good time last night"
starer - a viewer who gazes fixedly (often with hostility)
peeper, Peeping Tom, voyeur - a viewer who enjoys seeing the sex acts or sex organs of others
3.witness - testimony by word or deed to your religious faith
shahadah - the first pillar of Islam is an affirmation of faith
testimony - a solemn statement made under oath
4.witness - (law) a person who attests to the genuineness of a document or signature by adding their own signature
law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"
signatory, signer - someone who signs and is bound by a document
5.witnesswitness - (law) a person who testifies under oath in a court of law
individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do"
law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"
adverse witness, hostile witness - a witness whose relationship to the opposing party is such that his or her testimony may be prejudiced against the opposing party; "a hostile witness can be asked leading questions and cross-examined"
character witness - a witness who testifies under oath as to the good reputation of another person in the community where that person lives
expert witness - a witness who has knowledge not normally possessed by the average person concerning the topic that he is to testify about
lay witness - any witness who does not testify as an expert witness
material witness - a witness whose testimony is both relevant to the matter at issue and required in order to resolve the matter
Verb1.witness - be a witness to; "She witnessed the accident and had to testify in court"
eyewitness - be present at an event and see it with one's own eyes
watch - look attentively; "watch a basketball game"
2.witness - perceive or be contemporaneous with; "We found Republicans winning the offices"; "You'll see a lot of cheating in this school"; "The 1960's saw the rebellion of the younger generation against established traditions"; "I want to see results"
get a line, get wind, get word, hear, learn, discover, find out, pick up, see - get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally; "I learned that she has two grown-up children"; "I see that you have been promoted"
catch - become aware of; "he caught her staring out the window"
experience, go through, see - go or live through; "We had many trials to go through"; "he saw action in Viet Nam"
find - perceive oneself to be in a certain condition or place; "I found myself in a difficult situation"; "When he woke up, he found himself in a hospital room"

witness
verb 3. see, mark, view, watch, note, notice, attend, observe, perceive, look on, be present at, behold (archaic), (literary)
verb 4. countersign, sign, endorse, validate bear witness
5. confirm, show, prove, demonstrate, bear out, testify to, be evidence of, corroborate, attest to, be proof of, vouch for, evince, betoken, be a monument to, constitute proof of
6. give evidence, testify, depose, give testimony, depone >> adjective testimonial
Translations
Spanish witness [ˈwɪtnɪs] n (= person) → testigo m/f (= evidence); testimonio
vt [+ event] → presenciar, ser testigo de [+ document]; atestiguar la veracidad de;
witness for the prosecution/defence → testigo de cargo/descargo;
to witness to (having seen) sth → dar testimonio de (haber visto) algo

French witness [ˈwɪtnɪs] n (= person) → témoin m (= evidence); témoignage m
vt [+ event] → être témoin de [+ document]; attester l'authenticité de;
to bear witness to sth → témoigner de qch;
witness for the prosecution/defence → témoin à chargedécharge;
to witness to sth/having seen sth → témoigner de qch/d'avoir vu qch

German witness [ˈwɪtnɪs] nZeuge m, Zeugin f
vt [+ event] → sehen, Zeuge/Zeugin sein +gen (fig); miterleben;
to bear witness to sth → Zeugnis für etw ablegen;
witness for the prosecution/defence → Zeuge/Zeugin der Anklage/Verteidigung;
to witness to sth → etw bezeugen;
to witness having seen sth → bezeugen, etw gesehen zu haben

Italian witness [ˈwɪtnɪs] n (person) → testimone m/f
vt [+ event] → essere testimone di [+ document]; attestare l'autenticità di
vi to witness to sth/having seen sth → testimoniare qc/di aver visto qc;
to bear witness to sth → testimoniare qc;
witness for the prosecution/defence → testimone a carico/discarico

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