Meanings
present singular third person testifies · participle present testifying · participle past testified · past testified · first person past singular testified · archaic present second person singular testifiest · past second person singular testified · archaic past second person singular testifiedst · present singular third person testifies · archaic present singular third person testifieth · past singular third person testified · past plural testified · past subjunctive testified · participle present testifying · participle past testified
- ambitransitiveTo make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath.
One witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 35:302 more examples
Michael Jackson probably died after he rapidly injected himself with a dose of the surgical anesthetic propofol on top of a large dose of sedatives he swallowed when Dr. Conrad Murray was away, the defense’s propofol expert testified Friday.
2011 October 28, Alan Duke, “Michael Jackson gave himself fatal overdose, expert says”, in CNN, archived from the original on 29 Dec 2016It was only after a decade away from Skipton that I was finally able to garner the courage to return and testify against my abuser.
2014 August 29, Ruzwana Bashir, “The untold story of how a culture of shame perpetuates abuse. I know, I was a victim”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Feb 2021 - ambitransitiveTo make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith.
We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 3:111 more example
[T]he pleaſures of ſenſe have no reliſh vvhere thou [Jesus] irradiateſt and teſtifieſt vvith our conſcience, that vve are the children of God, and have done thy vvill ſincerely, […]
1733, Tho[mas] Allen, “Jesus Christ’s Sixth Royal Embassy; or Word to the Angel of the Church in Philadelphia”, in The Christian’s Sure Guide to Eternal Glory: Or, Living Oracles Most Comfortable, Holy and Instructive of the Lord Jesus Christ from Heaven, in His Royal Embassy to the Seven Churches of Asia, […], London: […] Francis Jefferies […], →OCLC, page 253 - ambitransitiveTo be evidence of.
"Iberian-Sardinian" substrate features have been posited time and time again. These have usually been explained as testifying to a migration from the Iberian Peninsula to Sardinia in prehistoric times.
2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 151 more example
Paradoxically, the sharp and unambiguous formulas in which Lenin called for the use of terror and denied the possibility of democracy and freedom testified to the fact that freedom had not yet been completely eradicated.
1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 508
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latintestificārī“to bear witness”
- Old Frenchtestifier
- Middle Englishtestifien
- Englishtestify
PIE word *tréyes From Middle English testifien, borrowed from Old French testifier, from Latin testificārī (“to bear witness”), from testis (“a witness”) + facere (“to make”). See -fy.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μαρτυρέω, μαρτυρέω
- μαρτυρέω (marturéō)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- μαρτυρέω (marturéō)to make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Arabic شَهِدَ
- شَهِدَ (šahida)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Bulgarian свидетелствам, изразявам
- свидетелствам (svidetelstvam)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- изразявам (izrazjavam)to make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Catalan declarar, testificar
- declararto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- testificarto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- testimoniarto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Chinese Mandarin 作證 /作证
- 作證 /作证 (zuòzhèng)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Czech svědčit
- svědčitto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Danish bevidne
- bevidneto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Dutch getuigen
- getuigento make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Finnish todistaa
- todistaato make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
French témoigner, attester
- témoignerto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- attesterto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
German bezeugen
- bezeugento make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Hungarian tanúvallomást tesz, tanúskodik
- tanúvallomást teszto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- tanúskodikto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- vallto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- tanúsítto make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
- tanúskodikto make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
- tanúságot teszto make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Italian deporre, testimoniare
- deporreto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- testimoniareto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Japanese 証言する
- 証言する (shōgen suru)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Korean 증언하다
- 증언하다 (jeung'eonhada)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Latin testificor
- testificorto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Māori taunaki
- taunakito make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Norwegian Bokmål bevitne, bevitne
- bevitneto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- bevitneto make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Persian شهادت دادن
- شهادت دادنto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Polish zeznawać
- zeznawaćto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Portuguese declarar, depor
- declararto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- deporto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- atestarto make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Romanian atesta (jurând), declara (jurând)
- atesta (jurând)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- declara (jurând)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- adeverito make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- atestato make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Russian свиде́тельствовать, засвиде́тельствовать
- свиде́тельствовать (svidételʹstvovatʹ)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- засвиде́тельствовать (zasvidételʹstvovatʹ)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- дава́ть показа́ния (davátʹ pokazánija)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- дать показа́ния (datʹ pokazánija)to make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- свиде́тельствовать (svidételʹstvovatʹ)to make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
- засвиде́тельствовать (zasvidételʹstvovatʹ)to make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Spanish testificar, atestiguar
- testificarto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- atestiguarto make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
- aseverarto make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Swedish vittna, vittna
- vittnato make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- vittnato make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Tagalog manaksi, manaksi
- manaksito make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
- manaksito make a statement based on personal knowledge or faith
Turkish ifade vermek
- ifade vermekto make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath
Cite this entry
testify. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/testify
“testify.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/testify. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “testify,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/testify.
Source: testify on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.