PROVEN

proved, proven

(adjective) established beyond doubt; “a proven liar”; “a Soviet leader of proven shrewdness”

PROVE

prove, demonstrate, establish, show, shew

(verb) establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; “The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound”; “The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture”

prove

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

prove

(verb) obtain probate of; “prove a will”

testify, bear witness, prove, evidence, show

(verb) provide evidence for; “The blood test showed that he was the father”; “Her behavior testified to her incompetence”

prove

(verb) take a trial impression of

raise, leaven, prove

(verb) cause to puff up with a leaven; “unleavened bread”

rise, prove

(verb) increase in volume; “the dough rose slowly in the warm room”

test, prove, try, try out, examine, essay

(verb) put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to; “This approach has been tried with good results”; “Test this recipe”

prove, turn out, turn up

(verb) be shown or be found to be; “She proved to be right”; “The medicine turned out to save her life”; “She turned up HIV positive”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

proven (comparative more proven, superlative most proven)

Having been proved; having proved its value or truth.

Antonyms

• unproven

• disproven

Verb

proven

(proscribed) past participle of prove

Usage notes

As the past participle of prove, proven is often discouraged, with proved preferred – “have proved” rather than “have proven”. However, they are both about equally common in everyday use in US English. Both are used and considered correct in UK English, but “have proved” is more common.

Historically, proved is the older form, while proven arose as a Scottish variant – see etymology. Used in legal writing from the mid-17th century, it entered literary usage more slowly, only becoming significant in the 19th century, with the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson among the earliest frequent users (presumably for reasons of meter). In the 19th century, proven was widely discouraged, and remained significantly less common through the mid-20th century (proved being used approximately four times as often); by the late 20th century it came to be used about equally often in US English.

As an attributive adjective, proven is much more commonly used, and proved is widely considered an error – “a proven method”, not *“a proved method”.

Source: Wiktionary


Prov"en, p. p. or a.

Definition: Proved. "Accusations firmly proven in his mind." Thackeray. Of this which was the principal charge, and was generally believed to beproven, he was acquitted. Jowett (Thucyd. ). Not proven (Scots Law), a verdict of a jury that the guilt of the accused is not made out, though not disproved. Mozley & W.

PROVE

Prove, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Proved; p. pr. & vb. n. Proving.] Etym: [OE. prover, F. prouver, fr. L. probare to try, approve, prove, fr. probus good, proper. Cf. Probable, Proof, Probe.]

1. To try or to ascertain by an experiment, or by a test or standard; to test; as, to prove the strength of gunpowder or of ordnance; to prove the contents of a vessel by a standard measure. Thou hast proved mine heart. Ps. xvii. 3.

2. To evince, establish, or ascertain, as truth, reality, or fact, by argument, testimony, or other evidence. They have inferred much from slender premises, and conjectured when they could not prove. J. H. Newman.

3. To ascertain or establish the genuineness or validity of; to verify; as, to prove a will.

4. To gain experience of the good or evil of; to know by trial; to experience; to suffer. Where she, captived long, great woes did prove. Spenser.

5. (Arith.)

Definition: To test, evince, ascertain, or verify, as the correctness of any operation or result; thus, in subtraction, if the difference between two numbers, added to the lesser number, makes a sum equal to the greater, the correctness of the subtraction is proved.

6. (Printing)

Definition: To take a trial impression of; to take a proof of; as, to prove a page.

Syn.

– To try; verify; justify; confirm; establish; evince; manifest; show; demonstrate.

Prove, v. i.

1. To make trial; to essay.

2. To be found by experience, trial, or result; to turn out to be; as, a medicine proves salutary; the report proves false. "The case proves mortal." Arbuthnot. So life a winter's morn may prove. Keble.

3. To succeed; to turn out as expected. [Obs.] "The experiment proved not." Bacon.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

25 December 2024

UNAMBIGUOUS

(adjective) having or exhibiting a single clearly defined meaning; “As a horror, apartheid...is absolutely unambiguous”- Mario Vargas Llosa


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Coffee Trivia

Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world. Each year Brazil exports more than 44 million bags of coffee. Vietnam follows at exporting over 27 million bags each year.

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