Library / English Dictionary

PROVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: proven   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment

Example:

The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture

Synonyms:

demonstrate; establish; prove; shew; show

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

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

affirm; confirm; corroborate; substantiate; support; sustain (establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts)

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

prove oneself (show one's ability or courage)

prove (prove formally; demonstrate by a mathematical, formal proof)

contradict; negate (prove negative; show to be false)

stultify (prove to be of unsound mind or demonstrate someone's incompetence)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Antonym:

disprove (prove to be false)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Prove formally; demonstrate by a mathematical, formal proof

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

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

demonstrate; establish; prove; shew; show (establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment)

Domain category:

math; mathematics; maths (a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Obtain probate of

Example:

prove a will

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

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

authenticate (establish the authenticity of something)

Domain category:

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

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Provide evidence for

Example:

Her behavior testified to her incompetence

Synonyms:

bear witness; evidence; prove; show; testify

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

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

inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state of affairs, or event to)

Domain category:

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

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

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

presume (constitute reasonable evidence for)

abduce; adduce; cite (advance evidence for)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They prove that there was a traffic accident

Sense 5

Meaning:

Take a trial impression of

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

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

impress; print (reproduce by printing)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Cause to puff up with a leaven

Example:

unleavened bread

Synonyms:

leaven; prove; raise

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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

bring up; elevate; get up; lift; raise (raise from a lower to a higher position)

Cause:

prove; rise (increase in volume)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They prove more bread

Sense 7

Meaning:

Increase in volume

Example:

the dough rose slowly in the warm room

Synonyms:

prove; rise

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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

grow (become larger, greater, or bigger; expand or gain)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 8

Meaning:

Put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to

Example:

Test this recipe

Synonyms:

essay; examine; prove; test; try; try out

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

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

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

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

control; verify (check or regulate (a scientific experiment) by conducting a parallel experiment or comparing with another standard)

float (circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with)

field-test (test something under the conditions under which it will actually be used)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 9

Meaning:

Be shown or be found to be

Example:

She turned up HIV positive

Synonyms:

prove; turn out; turn up

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

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

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

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

ensue; result (issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s Adjective/Noun
Somebody ----s Adjective
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
It ----s that CLAUSE

Credits

 Context examples: 

I was proving myself to be.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

No doubt, Doctor; and yet the conversation may prove more important than the treatise.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

However, the challenges in proving this link are similar to those of heart disease and cancer.

(Can Chocolate Really Be Good for You?, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Well, you couldn’t prove it, anyhow.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“You shall prove it yourn to the pollis.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I knew he would not expect to see me there, yet I took every precaution possible, and certainly the worst of my suspicions proved too true.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Again and again I have taken a problem to him, and have received an explanation which has afterwards proved to be the correct one.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We shall think you what you prove yourself to be, my child.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

We never can expect to prove any thing upon such a point.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

The man in the red sweater had proved that.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)