verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To verify something by supplying evidence; to authenticate or corroborate. transitive

   "substantiate allegations"

2. 2
   solidify, firm, or strengthen wordnet
3. 3
   To give material form or substance to something; to embody; to record in documents transitive
4. 4
   establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts wordnet
5. 5
   make real or concrete; give reality or substance to wordnet

Show 1 more definition

6. 6
   represent in bodily form wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

confirmdemonstrateincarnateprovevalidateactualise

Example

More examples

"Prosecutors in court have to substantiate their claims in order to prove a suspect is guilty."

Etymology

From Medieval Latin substantiatus (“given substance”), from the verb substantiare, first used 1657.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.