evidence
[noun]
Synonyms:
- proof, confirmation, corroboration, demonstration, grounds, indication, sign, substantiation, testimony
[verb]
Synonyms:
- show, demonstrate, display, exhibit, indicate, prove, reveal, signify, witness

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Related Words: display, expose, attest, bespeak, betoken, confirm, indicate, prove, testify

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English Thesaurus: sign, indication, evidence, symptom, indicator, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. ev‧i‧dence¹ S2 W1 AC /ˈevədəns, ˈevɪdəns/ noun

1. [uncountable] facts or signs that show clearly that something exists or is true
evidence of
At present we have no evidence of life on other planets.
evidence for
There is no evidence for these claims.
evidence that
Do you have evidence that this treatment works?

2. [uncountable] information that is given in a court of law in order to prove that someone is guilty or not guilty:
Murrow’s evidence was enough to convict Hayes of murder.
He refused to give evidence at the trial.
evidence against
There was very little evidence against the two men.
in evidence
The documents may be used in evidence at the trial.

3. be in evidence formal to be present and easily seen or noticed:
The police are always in evidence at football matches.
⇒ KING’S EVIDENCE, QUEEN’S EVIDENCE, STATE’S EVIDENCE


GRAMMAR
Evidence is an uncountable noun and has no plural form. Use a singular verb after it:
Vital evidence was destroyed.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. evidence² verb [transitive usually passive]
formal to show that something exists or is true:
The volcano is still active, as evidenced by the recent eruption.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

evidence
noun
ADJ. abundant, ample, considerable, extensive, plentiful, substantial, widespread | growing | clear, compelling, conclusive, convincing, decisive, good, hard, incontrovertible, irrefutable, overwhelming, persuasive, positive, powerful, solid, striking, strong, unambiguous, unequivocal | adequate | flimsy, inadequate, insufficient, scant | concrete, direct, firm, first-hand, objective, tangible The figures provide concrete evidence of the bank's claim to provide the best service.
indirect | available, current, present Available evidence points to pilot error as the cause of the crash.
fresh, further, more, new | crucial, important, valuable, vital The defence accused the prosecution of withholding crucial evidence.
corroborative They convicted the wrong man on the basis of a signed confession with no corroborative evidence.
conflicting Another team of scientists has come up with conflicting evidence.
damning The scandal is damning evidence of the government's contempt for democracy.
anecdotal, archaeological, circumstantial, documentary, empirical, experimental, factual, forensic, formal, historical, material, medical, photographic, scientific, statistical, video, visible, visual There was a mass of circumstantial evidence linking Watson to the murder.
false She admitted giving false evidence to the court.
QUANT. piece | body, mass A body of evidence emerged suggesting that smoking tobacco caused serious diseases.
VERB + EVIDENCE have We do not have the evidence to prove these claims.
look for, search for | accumulate, collect, come up with, find, gather, obtain, produce Scientists have found fresh evidence to suggest that a huge explosion led to the death of the dinosaurs.
offer (sb), provide (sb with), show (sb) The tapes provided evidence of her intentions.
give, present (sb with) She was hoping she would not have to give evidence in court. | see He says he's been working hard, but I haven't seen any evidence of it.
consider, examine, study | review | cite (sth as) The team cited evidence from a recent earthquake to back up their idea. The rise in crime is often cited as evidence of a general breakdown of authority.
use sth in The police officer took a statement which was later used in evidence.
hear We must wait to hear his evidence before we make any judgement.
admit, allow The judge can decide whether to admit or exclude evidence.
exclude
EVIDENCE + VERB exist | come to light, emerge | accumulate, grow Evidence is accumulating that a defective gene may be responsible for this disease.
confirm sth, demonstrate sth, establish sth, point to sth, show sth, suggest sth, support sth The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.
be based on sth, be derived from sth, come from sth evidence of growing poverty based on extensive surveys
implicate sb/sth, link sb/sth evidence linking her to the crime
PREP. as ~ He cited Australia's sporting success as evidence for his theory.
in ~ A photo of the victim's injuries was produced in evidence.
on … ~ On present evidence the team will be lucky to make the final.
on the ~ of On the evidence of his latest exhibition, Miller is an artist who is past his best.
~ about, ~ concerning, ~ regarding, ~ relating to The team have been collecting evidence about war crimes.
~ against The woman went to court to give evidence against her attacker.
~ for What evidence do you have for that claim?
~ of Archaeologists found evidence of a rich and varied culture at the settlement.
~ on The first chapter reviews the evidence on how children learn language.
PHRASES in the face/teeth of evidence The company denies, in the face of overwhelming evidence, that smoking causes cancer.
in the light of evidence In the light of new evidence, a new enquiry into the crash is likely to take place.
lack of evidence The kidnapping charge was dropped because of lack of evidence.
not a scrap/shred of evidence He made the accusations without a shred of evidence to back them up.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

evidence

have evidence
Do the police have any evidence against him?
find evidence (also obtain evidence formal)
The authorities failed to obtain enough evidence to convict him.
gather/collect evidence
Police experts are still collecting evidence at the scene of the crime.
look for/search for evidence
The investigation will look for evidence of financial mismanagement.
hide evidence
The killer may have tried to burn the bodies in an attempt to hide the evidence.
plant evidence (=deliberately put evidence somewhere to make someone look guilty)
He claims the evidence was planted there by the police.
produce evidence (=find evidence and prepare it for a court case)
The case was adjourned to allow the police time to produce further evidence.
give evidence (=tell a court about what you have seen or know to be true)
Ms White has agreed to give evidence at their trial.
consider/examine/study the evidence
Having considered all the evidence, the court found him not guilty.
good/clear/strong evidence
There is clear evidence that smoking causes heart disease.
hard evidence (=very clear evidence which proves that something is true)
They have no hard evidence to support their claim.
fresh evidence (=new evidence)
The police say they may have found fresh evidence which proves Tilly was at the scene of the crime.
medical/scientific evidence
There isn’t any medical evidence to support the claim.
reliable/credible (=which people can trust or believe)
Do you think their evidence is reliable?
flimsy (=not good enough to make you believe something)
Their conclusions are drawn from some very flimsy evidence.
convincing/compelling (=making you feel sure that something is true)
The data provides compelling evidence that the climate is changing.
overwhelming (=when there is so much evidence that you are sure that something is true)
The evidence against him was overwhelming.
conclusive/incontrovertible/irrefutable evidence (=very strong evidence which cannot be disproved)
We need irrefutable evidence before making an arrest.
The government claims it has conclusive evidence of the country’s nuclear weapons programme.
conflicting evidence (=pieces of evidence that support different conclusions)
With so much conflicting evidence, it’s almost impossible to make a decision.
incriminating evidence (=making someone seem guilty of a crime)
The robbers were careful not to leave any incriminating evidence behind.
damning evidence (=proving that someone has done something wrong)
Her testimony proved to be the most damning evidence against him.
circumstantial evidence (=evidence which makes something seem likely, but does not prove it)
His barrister claims the case against him is based on circumstantial evidence.
anecdotal evidence (=based on what people believe, rather than on facts)
Anecdotal evidence suggests that gang-related violence is on the increase.
empirical evidence (=based on scientific testing or practical experience)
Where is the empirical evidence to back up these claims?
admissible evidence (=acceptable in a court of law)
Her lawyer advised that the tape would not be admissible evidence in court.
a piece of evidence
The study produced one interesting piece of evidence.
not a scrap/shred of evidence (=no evidence at all)
There is not one scrap of evidence against our client.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

evidence
noun
BAD: There are no reliable evidences to suggest that the situation is improving.
GOOD: There is no reliable evidence to suggest that the situation is improving.
BAD: This true story provides an evidence of the power of advertising.
GOOD: This true story provides evidence of the power of advertising.

Usage Note:
Evidence is an uncountable noun: 'Medical evidence suggests that men are more likely to have heart attacks than women.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

sign [countable] an event, fact etc that shows that something is happening or that something is true or exists:
The curtains were still drawn and there was no sign of activity.
A score of 80 or more is a sign that you are doing very well.
indication [countable] a sign. Indication is more formal than sign:
Recently there have been several indications of improving relations.
There was no indication the killings were related to the drug trade.
evidence [uncountable] facts or signs that show clearly that something exists or is true, especially something that you are trying to prove:
Scientists are hoping to find evidence that there was once life on Mars.
There was not enough evidence to convict him of the murder.
symptom [countable] a sign that someone has an illness or that a serious problem exists:
The first symptoms are tiredness and loss of weight.
Is this a symptom of the decay of Western civilization?
indicator [countable] a sign that shows you what is happening or what is true – used about a process, or about the state or level of something:
There are a number of indicators of economic slowdown.
The tests are considered a good indicator of intelligence.
signal [countable] a sign that shows that you should do something, or that you have a particular attitude:
Severe chest pain is a warning signal that cannot be ignored.
Legalizing drugs could send the wrong signal to young people.
mark [countable] a sign, especially that you respect or honour someone:
People stood in silence as a mark of respect.
It was a mark of her popularity that so many colleagues and friends attended the presentation.
write to use a pen or pencil to make words, letters etc:
Have you written a shopping list?
The children are learning to read and write.
write something down to write something on paper, in order to remember it or make a record:
He wrote down everything she said.
put to write something in a particular place, or to write particular words:
I’ve put the dates of the meetings in my diary.
At the end of the email she put ‘PS I love you’.
put something in writing to write something that you have agreed or promised, so that there is an official record:
They said they would pay me 50%, but they haven’t actually put it in writing.
make a note of something to write information that you might need later:
I’ll just make a note of your address.
Make a note in your diary.
take notes to write things while someone is speaking or while something is happening, so that you can use them later:
His lawyer was with him taking notes.
scrawl /skrɔːl $ skrɒːl/ to write something carelessly and untidily, especially in big letters – often used to show disapproval:
Someone had scrawled graffiti on the school wall.
He’d scrawled a few unhelpful comments at the bottom of my work.
fill something in/out to write information on a form or other official document:
Please fill in the application form in black ink.
Would you mind filling out a questionnaire?
sign to write your name at the end of a letter, document etc:
Read the contract carefully, and then sign it.
Don’t forget to sign your name.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

evidence
ˈevɪdəns
See: in evidence

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲