Prove

• POS: Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Prove, v. t. [OE. prover, F. prouver, fr. L. probare to try, approve, prove, fr. probus good, proper. Cf. Probable, Proof, Probe.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "Thou hast proved mine heart."  [1913 Webster]
•  To evince, establish, or ascertain, as truth, reality, or fact, by argument, testimony, or other evidence.  [1913 Webster]

  "They have inferred much from slender premises, and conjectured when they could not prove."  [1913 Webster]
•  To ascertain or establish the genuineness or validity of; to verify; as, to prove a will.  [1913 Webster]
•  To gain experience of the good or evil of; to know by trial; to experience; to suffer.  [1913 Webster]

  "Where she, captived long, great woes did prove."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  To take a trial impression of; to take a proof of; as, to prove a page.  [1913 Webster]

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

Prove, v. i. 

•  To make trial; to essay.  [1913 Webster]
•  To be found by experience, trial, or result; to turn out to be; as, a medicine proves salutary; the report proves false.  [1913 Webster]

  "So life a winter's morn may prove."  [1913 Webster]
•  To succeed; to turn out as expected.  Bacon.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Prove, v. (past part. proved or proven)
1 tr. (often foll. by that + clause) demonstrate the truth of by evidence or argument.
2 intr. a (usu. foll. by to + infin.) be found (it proved to be untrue). b emerge incontrovertibly as (will prove the winner).
3 tr. Math. test the accuracy of (a calculation).
4 tr. establish the genuineness and validity of (a will).
5 intr. (of dough) rise in bread-making.
6 tr. = PROOF 6.
7 tr. subject (a gun etc.) to a testing process.
8 tr. archaic test the qualities of; try.

Idiom

not proven (in Scottish Law) a verdict that there is insufficient evidence to establish guilt or innocence. prove oneself show one's abilities, courage, etc.

Derivative

provable adj. provability n. provably adv.

Etymology

ME f. OF prover f. L probare test, approve, demonstrate f. probus good

THESAURUS

Prove

affirm, afford proof of, argue, ascertain, assay, attend, attest, audit, authenticate, back, back up, balance, balance the books, be found, bear out, become of, bespeak, betoken, bolster, bring home to, bring out, bring to test, buttress, certify, check, check and doublecheck, check out, check over, cinch, circumstantiate, clinch, collate, come about, come of, come out, confirm, corroborate, cross-check, cut and try, demonstrate, determine, develop, document, double-check, end, engrave, ensue, essay, establish, eventuate, evince, examine, experiment, fall out, fare, fix, follow, follow from, fortify, get out, give a try, give a tryout, have a case, have a go, hectograph, hold good, hold water, impress, imprint, indicate, inventory, issue, make good, make out, mimeograph, multigraph, nail down, overhaul, overprint, pan out, play around with, practice upon, print, probate, proof, prove to be, prove true, publish, pull, pull a proof, put out, put to bed, put to press, put to trial, ratify, recheck, reinforce, reissue, remove all doubt, reprint, research, result, road-test, run, run a sample, run off, sample, set at rest, settle, settle the matter, shake down, show, stamp, strengthen, strike, substantiate, support, sustain, take stock, taste, terminate, test, triple-check, try, try it on, try out, turn out, undergird, unfold, uphold, validate, verify, warrant, work out

ROGET THESAURUS

Prove

Numeration

VB number, count, tally, tell, call over, run over, take an account of, enumerate, muster, poll, recite, recapitulate, sum, sum up, cast up, tell off, score, cipher, compute, calculate, suppute, add, subtract, multiply, divide, extract roots, algebraize, check, prove, demonstrate, balance, audit, overhaul, take stock, affix numbers to, page, amount to, add up to, come to.

Eventuality

VB happen, occur, take place, take effect, come, become of, come off, comeabout, come round, come into existence, come forth, come to pass, come on, pass, present itself, fall, fall out, turn out, run, be on foot, fall in, befall, betide, bechance, prove, eventuate, draw on, turn up, crop up, spring up, pop up, arise, show up, show its face, appear, come forth, cast up, supervene, survene, issue, arrive, ensue, arise, start, hold, take its course, pass off, meet with, experience, enjoy, encounter, undergo, suffer, pass through, go through, be subjected to, be exposed to, fall to the lot of, be one's chance, be one's fortune, be one's lot, find, endure.

Feeling

VB feel, receive an impression, be impressed with, entertain feeling, harbor feeling, cherish feeling, respond, catch the flame, catch the infection, enter the spirit of, bear, suffer, support, sustain, endure, thole, aby, abide, experience, taste, prove, labor under, smart under, bear the brunt of, brave, stand, swell, glow, warm, flush, blush, change color, mantle, turn color, turn pale, turn red, turn black in the face, tingle, thrill, heave, pant, throb, palpitate, go pitapat, tremble, quiver, flutter, twitter, shake, be agitated, be excited, look blue, look black, wince, draw a deep breath, impress.

Experiment

VB experiment, essay, try, try out, assay, make an experiment, make a trial of, give a trial to, put on trial, subject to trial, experiment upon, rehearse, put to the test, bring to the test, submit to the test, submit to the proof, prove, verify, test, touch, practice upon, try one's strength, road-test, test drive, take for a spin, test fly, grope, feel one's way, grope for one's way, fumble, t=atonner, aller =a t=atons, put out a feeler, throw out a feeler, send up a trial balloon, send up a pilot balloon, see how the land lies, get the lay of the land, test the waters, feel out, sound out, take the pulse, see, check, check out, see how the wind blows, consult the barometer, feel the pulse, fish for, bob for, cast for, beat about for, angle, trawl, cast one's net, beat the bushes, try one's fortune, explore.

Demonstration

VB demonstrate, prove, establish, make good, show, evince, manifest, confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify, settle the question, reduce to demonstration, set the question at rest, make out, make out a case, prove one's point, have the best of the argument, draw a conclusion, follow, follow of course, follow as a matter of course, follow necessarily, stand to reason, hold good, hold water, convince, persuade (belief).