Meanings
comparative more probative · superlative most probative
- formallawTending to prove a particular proposition or to persuade someone of the truth of an allegation.
My grandfather in person organized the file with a surfeit of sworn testimonies and probative documents […]
2003, Gabriel García Márquez, chapter 2, in Edith Grossman, transl., Living to Tell the Tale1 more example
The judge had granted the DA a one-week extension with the caustic admonition that the case would be summarily dismissed if at that time probative, as opposed to prejudicial, evidence was not produced.
1999, Dana Stabenow, Hunter's Moon, →ISBN, page 109
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivetending to prove a particular proposition or to persuade you of the truth of an allegation
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinprobare“show, prove, demonstrate”
- Latinprobātīvus“belonging to proof”
- Old Frenchprobatif
- Middle Englishprobatiffe
- Englishprobative
From Middle English probatiffe, from Old French probatif, from Latin probātīvus (“belonging to proof”), from Latin probare (“show, prove, demonstrate”) (See prove). Originally in terme probatiffe (“a period of time assigned for the proving of an allegation”). First attested in the mid-15th century.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian доказателствен
- доказателствен (dokazatelstven)tending to prove a particular proposition
Chinese Mandarin 有證明力的 /有证明力的
- 有證明力的 /有证明力的 (yǒu zhèngmínglì de)tending to prove a particular proposition
Finnish todistusvoimainen
- todistusvoimainentending to prove a particular proposition
German beweiskräftig
- beweiskräftigtending to prove a particular proposition
Greek αποδεικτικός
- αποδεικτικός (apodeiktikós)tending to prove a particular proposition
Hungarian bizonyító erejű
- bizonyító erejűtending to prove a particular proposition
Russian доказа́тельный
- доказа́тельный (dokazátelʹnyj)tending to prove a particular proposition
Swedish beviskraftig
- beviskraftigtending to prove a particular proposition
Ukrainian доказо́вий
- доказо́вий (dokazóvyj)tending to prove a particular proposition
Cite this entry
probative. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/probative
“probative.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/probative. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “probative,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/probative.
Source: probative on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.