Library / English Dictionary

ATTEST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Authenticate, affirm to be true, genuine, or correct, as in an official capacity

Example:

I attest this signature

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "attest" is one way to...):

affirm; assert; aver; avow; swan; swear; verify (to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true)

Verb group:

attest (establish or verify the usage of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

attestant (someone who affirms or vouches for the correctness or truth or genuineness of something)

attestation (the evidence by which something is attested)

attester (someone who affirms or vouches for the correctness or truth or genuineness of something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Establish or verify the usage of

Example:

This word is not attested until 1993

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "attest" is one way to...):

show (give evidence of, as of records)

Verb group:

attest (authenticate, affirm to be true, genuine, or correct, as in an official capacity)

attest; certify; demonstrate; evidence; manifest (provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

attestation (the evidence by which something is attested)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes

Example:

This decision demonstrates his sense of fairness

Synonyms:

attest; certify; demonstrate; evidence; manifest

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "attest" is one way to...):

bear witness; evidence; prove; show; testify (provide evidence for)

Verb group:

attest (establish or verify the usage of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attest"):

authenticate (establish the authenticity of something)

reflect (give evidence of the quality of)

reflect (give evidence of a certain behavior)

notarise; notarize (authenticate as a notary)

condemn (demonstrate the guilt of (someone))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They attest that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

attestation (the evidence by which something is attested)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Give testimony in a court of law

Synonyms:

attest; bear witness; take the stand; testify

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "attest" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attest"):

vouch (give personal assurance; guarantee)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

They attest that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

attestant ((law) a person who attests to the genuineness of a document or signature by adding their own signature)

attestation (the action of bearing witness)

Credits

 Context examples: 

I have, in my possession, in his hand and pocket-book, several similar imitations of Mr. W.'s signature, here and there defaced by fire, but legible to anyone. I never attested any such document. And I have the document itself, in my possession. Uriah Heep, with a start, took out of his pocket a bunch of keys, and opened a certain drawer; then, suddenly bethought himself of what he was about, and turned again towards us, without looking in it.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I cannot tell what sentiment haunted the quite solitary churchyard, with its inscribed headstone; its gate, its two trees, its low horizon, girdled by a broken wall, and its newly-risen crescent, attesting the hour of eventide.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)