testify Hear it!

testify Definition

tes·tify (tes′tə fī′)

intransitive verb -·fied′, -·fy′·ing

  1. to make a serious declaration to substantiate a fact; bear witness or give evidence, esp. under oath in court
  2. to be evidence or an indication a look testifying to his impatience

Etymology: ME testifien < L testificari < testis, a witness (prob. < *tri-sto-, standing as a third < tri-, tri- + base of stare, stand) + facere, to make, do

transitive verb

  1. to bear witness to; affirm; declare, esp. under oath in court
  2. to be evidence of; indicate
  3. Archaic to profess or proclaim publicly

testify Related Forms

tes′·ti·fi·ca′·tion noun tes′·ti·fi′er noun

testify Synonyms

testify

v.

  1. To demonstrate

    indicate, show, make evident; see prove.

  2. To bear witness

    affirm, give evidence, swear, swear to, attest, witness, give witness, give one's word, certify, warrant, depose, vouch, give the facts, stand up for, say a good word for.

  3. To declare

    assert, attest, claim; see declare 1.

testify Law Definition

v

  1. To tell a court what pertinent information to a case one has, while under oath, and while the defendant is present.
  2. To bear witness.

testify Usage Examples

Object

receipt: Hull, testifying the Receipt thereof, shall be a sufficient Discharge in that Behalf.

Preposition: on

  • oath: Sarah McCorquodale ( Diane's sister ) testified on oath during the trial about the tape's existence.
  • behalf: Allen Lane, who had founded Penguin just prior to World War II, asked Hoggart to testify on behalf of the press.

Preposition: at

  • hearing: A young woman comes forth to testify at a public hearing.
  • trial: He later testified at several trials, most importantly Richard Caldwell's.

Preposition: as

witness: As a chaplain, I was asked to testify as a character witness for a forty year old man on remand.

Modifying Another Word

  • amply: He is certainly no cavalier with facts, as his own work on Russia amply testifies.
  • personally: I can personally testify to its excellent results in a wide range of conditions.
  • publicly: Have you testified publicly to your union with your Lord?
  • readily: He was an outstanding teacher and craftsman and any old pupils reading this who knew him will readily testify to this.
  • all: All testify to the unpopularity of the Iraq war stretching through all ranks.
  • clearly: As the above texts clearly testify, he is actually a Divine Being, the very human revelation of Yahweh God himself!

Preposition: before

  • jury: Last week Judith Miller of the New York Times was jailed after she refused to testify before a grand jury about her source.
  • committee: A former member of the American Communist Party, Matusow had testified before several congressional committees giving the names of former party members.
  • commission: In testifying before the commission she gave the following extraordinary evidence: ' One night we were sitting in the drawing room.

Present participle complement

concern: This is the Father's direct testimony to Jesus -"the Father has himself testified concerning me " .

Preposition: in

  • court: The FBI comes in to protect the other two to ensure they are able to testify in court 45 hours later.
  • trial: In 1931 or 1932 I was called to testify in a trial against Dr. Goebbels in Berlin.

Preposition: under

  • pseudonym: President Milosevic finished the cross-examination of the secret witness testifying under the pseudonym of " C-47.
  • oath: Wolfowitz avoids prosecution for perjury because he did not testify under oath.