corroborate

verb

kə-ˈrä-bə-ˌrāt How to pronounce corroborate (audio)
Definition of corroboratenext
1
as in to confirm
to give evidence or testimony to the truth or factualness of the witnesses corroborated the policeman's testimony

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to reinforce
to provide evidence or information for (as a claim or idea) my personal experience does not corroborate your faith in the essential goodness of people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb corroborate contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of corroborate are authenticate, confirm, substantiate, validate, and verify. While all these words mean "to attest to the truth or validity of something," corroborate suggests the strengthening of what is already partly established.

witnesses corroborated his story

When is it sensible to use authenticate instead of corroborate?

Although the words authenticate and corroborate have much in common, authenticate implies establishing genuineness by adducing legal or official documents or expert opinion.

handwriting experts authenticated the diaries

Where would confirm be a reasonable alternative to corroborate?

The synonyms confirm and corroborate are sometimes interchangeable, but confirm implies the removing of doubts by an authoritative statement or indisputable fact.

confirmed the reports

When is substantiate a more appropriate choice than corroborate?

The meanings of substantiate and corroborate largely overlap; however, substantiate implies the offering of evidence that sustains the contention.

the claims have yet to be substantiated

In what contexts can validate take the place of corroborate?

While in some cases nearly identical to corroborate, validate implies establishing validity by authoritative affirmation or by factual proof.

validated the hypothesis by experiments

When could verify be used to replace corroborate?

In some situations, the words verify and corroborate are roughly equivalent. However, verify implies the establishing of correspondence of actual facts or details with those proposed or guessed at.

all statements of fact in the article have been verified

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of corroborate Laboratory tests may be ordered to rule out other conditions or to corroborate the atopic dermatitis diagnosis by finding other allergic conditions. —Susan Bard, Verywell Health, 2 Apr. 2025 Several reporters, including others at CSL, also corroborated what Mullen said to Ellis after the game. —Sean Neumann, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025 One of his employees corroborated that Cattelan had his assistants test out bananas taped to a wall at different heights and angles to choose the best combination. —Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025 The festival corroborated the incident through an Instagram story. —Natalia Cano, Billboard, 6 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for corroborate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corroborate
  1. confirm
  2. reinforce
  3. verify
  4. bolster
  5. argue
  6. prove
Verb
  • Production on new episodes began in January, with Elordi, Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney among the other cast members confirmed to return.
    — J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 11 Apr. 2025
  • An official familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News that days after Vance's visit, Col. Sussanah Meyers wrote an email to base personnel that distanced the base from some of the vice president's comments about Denmark, of which Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory.
    — Luis Martinez, ABC News, 11 Apr. 2025
Definition of confirm
Verb
  • As the fireline is constructed, inspected or reinforced, mappers record those details to adjust the containment percentage.
    — CA WILDFIRE BOT, Sacbee.com, 19 Apr. 2025
  • The results reinforce the idea that regeneration of major body parts requires the re-establishment of the signals that lay out organization of the embryo in development—something that gets complicated if those signals are currently acting to organize the embryo.
    — John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of reinforce
Verb
  • But now, the SSA is changing that policy, which a White House official told CBS MoneyWatch is due to the rollout of anti-fraud software that will be able to identify anomalies and flag potential fraud when people verify their identities over the phones.
    — Anne Marie Drummond Lee, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2025
  • This breach may have been linked to an insider job during layoffs at X, although the company has not verified this claim.
    — Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Definition of verify
Verb
  • Montana is one of 23 states, along with Puerto Rico, that are eligible for the NIH’s Institutional Development Award program, meant to bolster NIH funding in states that historically have received less investment.
    — Rae Ellen Bichell and Rachana Pradhan, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The only evidence against defendant [Weinstein] was the complainants' testimony, and the result of the court's rulings ... was to bolster their credibility and diminish defendant's character before the jury.
    — Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR, 20 Apr. 2025
Definition of bolster
Verb
  • And some would argue that the lawsuits from NYT and others against OpenAI or other model companies represent a case of this.
    — John Werner, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The anti-Amendment 4 website hosted by the Agency for Health Care Administration led to court challenges from people who argued the state was improperly using its official power, including one case in front of the Florida Supreme Court.
    — Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2025
Definition of argue
Verb
  • Jarred Kelenic, picked up in trade from the Seattle Mariners in the 2023-2024 offseason, has proven to be a liability as well, starting the season with an anemic slash line of .146./.239/.244.
    — Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Naysayers insisted that increasing content costs would match the company’s rapid topline and subscriber growth, and profits would prove illusory.
    — Michael Khouw, CNBC, 17 Apr. 2025
Definition of prove

Browse Nearby Words

corrivals
corroborate
corroborated
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Cite this Entry

“Corroborate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corroborate. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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