evidence-based

adjective

Based only on actual evidence, rather than tradition, etc.

OriginEnglish based ← Middle English base ← Old French base →
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Meanings

adjectiveevidence-based (not comparable)
  1. not comparableBased only on actual evidence, rather than tradition, etc.

    In the last decade, the health care field has been under the spell of evidence-based medicine—a social movement aimed to strengthen the scientific base of health care and determine the effectiveness of clinical interventions.

    2004, S. Timmermans and E. S. Kolker, "Evidence-Based Medicine and the Reconfiguration of Medical Knowledge," Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 45, extra issue, p. 177
    2 more examples

    He told the GWPF Australia needed “evidence-based policy rather than policy-based evidence” and took aim at a 2013 study that showed that 97% of scientists agree humans are driving climate change, “as if scientific truth is determined by votes rather than facts”.

    2017 October 9, Karl Mathiesen, “Tony Abbott says climate change is 'probably doing good'”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 28 Jul 2020

    The spectacle of a prominent vaccine sceptic and wellness crank as secretary of health and human services goes beyond an abandonment of truth; it feels like an assault on human progress. Bans on fluoride in tap water, passed by legislators in Utah and Florida at Robert F Kennedy Jr’s behest, mark a new hostility to the very idea of evidence-based government.

    2025 October 2, William Davies, “A critique of pure stupidity: understanding Trump 2.0”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 01 Apr 2026

Origin

  1. Englishevidence
  2. Proto-Indo-European*gʷem-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*gʷémtis
  4. Proto-Hellenic*gʷə́tis
  5. Ancient Greekβᾰ́σῐς (bắsĭs)
  6. Latinbasis
  7. Old Frenchbase
  8. Middle Englishbase
  9. Englishbase
  10. Englishbased
  11. Englishevidence-based

From evidence + based.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch op bewijs gebaseerd, evidencebased
  • op bewijs gebaseerdbased only on actual evidence
  • evidencebasedbased only on actual evidence
Finnish näyttöön perustuva, todisteisiin perustuva
  • näyttöön perustuvabased only on actual evidence
  • todisteisiin perustuvabased only on actual evidence
French fondé sur des données probantes, basé sur des faits
  • fondé sur des données probantesbased only on actual evidence
  • basé sur des faitsbased only on actual evidence
German nachweisorientiert, evidenzbasiert
  • nachweisorientiertbased only on actual evidence
  • evidenzbasiertbased only on actual evidence
Hungarian evidenciaalapú
  • evidenciaalapúbased only on actual evidence
Polish oparty na dowodach
  • oparty na dowodachbased only on actual evidence
Swedish evidensbaserad
  • evidensbaseradbased only on actual evidence
Cite this entry
APA

evidence-based. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/evidence-based

MLA

“evidence-based.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/evidence-based. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “evidence-based,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/evidence-based.

Source: evidence-based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.