All words

corroborate

Meaning

To strengthen or support with additional facts or evidence; to make more certain.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

He swore he saw the car run the red light. His friend looked on, then pointed to the dashboard camera footage playing on the screen. The video clearly showed the light changing just as they sped through, helping to corroborate his friend's urgent claim.

The old man's trembling hand pointed to the faded inscription, a single word etched into the stone. It was the same word I'd found in Grandma’s diary, a whispered secret from a forgotten past. Her faint tremor, her hushed tones, and now this, all began to corroborate her unbelievable tale, making the impossible feel terrifyingly real.

The farmer checked the sky, his brow furrowed. The clouds looked wrong, too dark. He needed more than just his gut feeling. He called his neighbor, who confirmed the distant rumble. This new sound, this shared worry, began to corroborate his fear of an early frost, making his need to cover the seedlings more certain.

My cat swore he saw a squirrel steal my sandwich, but it sounded fishy. Then, the dog coughed up a tiny piece of bread. That dog's slobbery regurgitation seemed to corroborate the cat's wild tale, making the whole messy incident far more believable.

Sir Reginald's tale of wrestling a badger for his teacup seemed far-fetched. However, the mud streaks on his waistcoat and the tiny, badger-sized footprint by the biscuit tin began to corroborate his wild story, making the whole thing oddly believable.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

He pleaded his innocence, but his alibi was shaky. The detective hoped the grainy security footage would finally corroborate his story, proving he wasn't at the scene. Without it, the whole case felt like it might fall apart.

The lone witness's shaky testimony felt like a whisper in the wind. Then, security footage emerged. Seeing the same distinct scuff marks on the suspect's boots as described by the witness, the detective finally felt the case start to corroborate.

He showed the sheriff the torn calendar page, the faint smudge of grease matching the mechanic's overalls. The detective’s hunch began to solidify as the physical evidence continued to corroborate the witness's shaky testimony, finally bringing a glimmer of hope to the grim case.

My cat's elaborate tales of a squirrel uprising needed a bit more oomph. I asked him to corroborate his story with paw-drawn maps of the acorn trenches. He just blinked, then promptly knocked over my coffee, which, while not evidence, certainly supported his claims of chaotic energy.

Barry the badger, accused of pilfering the prize-winning giant zucchini, swore on his fluffy tail. Luckily, Mrs. Higgins' rogue flock of geese, who'd witnessed Barry meticulously polishing the vegetable earlier, arrived to corroborate his story. Apparently, the zucchini was simply too irresistible, even for a discerning badger.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

The detective knew his hunch was right when the witness's testimony began to corroborate the existing evidence. It wasn't just a feeling anymore; the new facts solidified the truth, leaving little room for doubt.

The detective reviewed the initial report, feeling a surge of confidence as the witness statements began to corroborate the forensic findings. Each new detail, from the unique soil sample to the faint tire tracks, helped to strengthen the case, making the truth of what happened far more certain.

The alchemist stared at the crumbling parchment, its symbols faded. If he could find even one more fragment referencing the lunar distillation, it would corroborate his hypothesis. The hushed library offered no comfort, only the persistent, gnawing doubt that his life's work might be based on air.

My witness claimed the alien abducted him, citing a lingering scent of burnt toast and an unsettling number of glittery footprints. To corroborate this fantastical tale, I presented my detective agency's own evidence: a suspiciously high bill from a "celestial catering" service and a blurry photograph of a raccoon wearing a tiny tinfoil hat.

The gnome, Barry, insisted his prize-winning rutabaga was abducted by miniature dirigibles. His neighbor’s surveillance footage, showing only a particularly gusty wind, failed to corroborate Barry’s outlandish claim. Barry, undeterred, produced a single, iridescent feather, "Exhibit A," he declared, "proving extraterrestrial horticulture intervention!"

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

The detective presented the witness's testimony, hoping to corroborate the initial forensics report. If the timelines aligned, it would solidify the prosecution's case and dispel lingering doubt, making conviction a tangible prospect.

The lone botanist, shivering in the frigid Arctic air, examined the peculiar lichen. Her initial hypothesis, based on a solitary bloom, seemed outlandish. However, finding a second specimen, identical in its ephemeral luminescence, began to corroborate her improbable theory of terrestrial bioluminescence.

The preliminary analysis of the stellar spectral signatures had been intriguing, but the confirmation from the deep-space radio telescope did much to corroborate those initial, almost unbelievable, readings. A palpable sense of relief permeated the control room as the second data stream provided undeniable proof of the anomaly.

Bartholomew, convinced his pet parrot could predict the stock market, presented an almanac and several peculiar squawks. His associates found this evidence rather specious, but his meticulous charting of acorn consumption patterns did, in fact, corroborate the bird's uncanny financial prescience, much to the chagrin of their accountants.

Barnaby, a connoisseur of vintage sock puppets, claimed his prized Peruvian Alpaca sock, "Sir Reginald," had once been blessed by a lesser-known deity of hosiery. To corroborate this outlandish assertion, Barnaby presented a suspiciously damp, lint-covered amulet and a notarized affidavit from a pigeon who’d witnessed the alleged benediction.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

Appears in

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