Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Evidence
1.
That which makes evident or manifest; that which furnishes, or tends to furnish, proof; any mode of proof; the ground of belief or judgement;
as, the
evidence
of our senses; evidence
of the truth or falsehood of a statement.Faith is . . . the
evidence
of things not seen. Heb. xi. 1.
O glorious trial of exceeding love
Illustrious
Illustrious
evidence
, example high. Milton.
2.
One who bears witness.
[R.]
“Infamous and perjured evidences.” Sir W. Scott.
3.
(Law)
That which is legally submitted to competent tribunal, as a means of ascertaining the truth of any alleged matter of fact under investigation before it; means of making proof; – the latter, strictly speaking, not being synonymous with evidence, but rather the effect of it.
Greenleaf.
Syn. – Testimony; proof. See
Testimony
. Ev′i-dence
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Evidenced
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Evidencing
.] To render evident or clear; to prove; to evince;
as, to
. evidence
a fact, or the guilt of an offenderMilton.
Webster 1828 Edition
Evidence
EV'IDENCE
,Noun.
1.
That which elucidates and enables the mind to see truth; proof arising from our own perceptions by the senses, or from the testimony of others, or from inductions of reason. Our senses furnish evidence of the existence of matter, of solidity, of color, of heat and cold, of a difference in the qualities of bodies, of figure , &c. The declarations of a witness furnish evidence of facts to a court and jury; and reasoning, or the deductions of the mind from facts or arguments, furnish evidence of truth or falsehood.2.
Any instrument or writing which contains proof.I delivered the evidence of the purchase to Baruch. Jer.32.
I subscribed the evidence and sealed it. Jer.32.
3.
A witness; one who testifies to a fact. This sense is improper and inelegant, though common, and found even in Johnson's writings.EV'IDENCE
,Verb.
T.
Definition 2024
evidence
evidence
See also: évidence
English
Noun
evidence (usually uncountable, plural evidences)
- Facts or observations presented in support of an assertion.
- David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 1748
- In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence.
- 2012 March 1, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 106:
- Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.
- There is no evidence that anyone was here earlier.
- David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 1748
- (law) Anything admitted by a court to prove or disprove alleged matters of fact in a trial.
- 2004 April 15, “Morning swoop in hunt for Jodi's killer”, in The Scotsman:
- For Lothian and Borders Police, the early-morning raid had come at the end one of biggest investigations carried out by the force, which had originally presented a dossier of evidence on the murder of Jodi Jones to the Edinburgh procurator-fiscal, William Gallagher, on 25 November last year.
-
- One who bears witness.
- Sir Walter Scott
- infamous and perjured evidences
- Sir Walter Scott
Usage notes
- Adjectives often used with "evidence": documentary, physical, empirical, scientific, material, circumstantial, anectodal, objective, strong, weak, conclusive, hard
Derived terms
Terms derived from "evidence"
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Derived terms
- after-discovered evidence
- clear and convincing evidence
- demurrer to evidence
- preponderance of evidence, preponderance of the evidence
- self-evidence
Related terms
Translations
facts presented in support of an assertion
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anything admitted by a court as proof
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Verb
evidence (third-person singular simple present evidences, present participle evidencing, simple past and past participle evidenced)
- (transitive) To provide evidence for, or suggest the truth of.
- She was furious, as evidenced by her slamming the door.
Translations
to provide evidence
Quotations
- For usage examples of this term, see Citations:evidence.