Validating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Confirming the accuracy or truth of something by checking or proving it
2. The act of establishing that information or data is correct or true
3. Ensuring that a statement, claim, or process is valid through verification

Etymology: The verb "validate" traces back to the Latin "validus," meaning "strong" or "healthy," the same root that gave English "valid" and "value." Medieval Latin speakers built "validare" from it, meaning to make strong or effective, and the perfect passive participle "validatus" passed into English. English speakers first recorded the verb in 1648, and the earlier adjective form appeared in 1586, so the strength sense in "valid" arrived before the verb did. The word's logic is literal: "valid" means having force or binding power, and "validate" means to give that force to something. Today a claim is validated when it has been shown to hold up, so checking a fact now means making it strong enough to stand. The "-ate" ending comes from the Latin verb-forming suffix, which is why "validate" feels like a close relative of words such as "eradicate" and "fascinate."

Synonyms: confirming, authenticating, certifying, substantiating, verifying

Antonyms: invalidating, disproving, refuting, negating, rejecting