Evidence Meaning
/ˈɛv.ɪ.dəns/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounFacts or observations presented in support of an assertion.
nounAnything admitted by a court to prove or disprove alleged matters of fact in a trial.
Sentence Examples
As for the accusations of heresy, here the evidence is much weaker.
Emma was much in evidence during the party.
Her evidence suggests a different interpretation of the events.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The detective found crucial ____ linking the suspect to the crime scene.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
There is no scientific ____ to support the claim that the moon is made of green cheese.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English evidence, from Old French [Term?], from Latin evidentia (“clearness, in Late Latin a proof”), from evidens (“clear, evident”); see evident.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1748, [David Hume], Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
"We find material evidences of magical practices in the European caves of the Palæolithic age[.]"
— 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 18:
"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."
— 2012 March 26, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 106:
"The Supreme Court, in an order that no justice publicly opposed last week, said the administration needs to “facilitate” Mr. Ábrego García’s release from Salvadoran custody. There has been no evidence that the Trump administration has been making that effort."
— 2025 April 18, Henry Gass, “Amid deportation dispute, Trump and courts square off on who has last word”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
"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."
— 2004 April 15, “Morning swoop in hunt for Jodi's killer”, in The Scotsman:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The detective found crucial ____ linking the suspect to the crime scene.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
There is no scientific ____ to support the claim that the moon is made of green cheese.