prove
    v 1: be shown or be found to be; "She proved to be right"; "The
         medicine turned out to save her life"; "She turned up HIV
         positive" [syn: prove, turn out, turn up]
    2: establish the validity of something, as by an example,
       explanation or experiment; "The experiment demonstrated the
       instability of the compound"; "The mathematician showed the
       validity of the conjecture" [syn: prove, demonstrate,
       establish, show, shew] [ant: confute, disprove]
    3: provide evidence for; "The blood test showed that he was the
       father"; "Her behavior testified to her incompetence" [syn:
       testify, bear witness, prove, evidence, show]
    4: prove formally; demonstrate by a mathematical, formal proof
    5: put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use
       to; "This approach has been tried with good results"; "Test
       this recipe" [syn: test, prove, try, try out,
       examine, essay]
    6: increase in volume; "the dough rose slowly in the warm room"
       [syn: rise, prove]
    7: cause to puff up with a leaven; "unleavened bread" [syn:
       raise, leaven, prove]
    8: take a trial impression of
    9: obtain probate of; "prove a will"

Prove \Prove\, v. i.
   1. To make trial; to essay.
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   2. To be found by experience, trial, or result; to turn out
      to be; as, a medicine proves salutary; the report proves
      false. "The case proves mortal." --Arbuthnot.
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            So life a winter's morn may prove.    --Keble.
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   3. To succeed; to turn out as expected. [Obs.] "The
      experiment proved not." --Bacon.
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Prove \Prove\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Proved; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Proving.] [OE. prover, F. prouver, fr. L. probare to try,
   approve, prove, fr. probus good, proper. Cf. Probable,
   Proof, Probe.]
   1. To try or to ascertain by an experiment, or by a test or
      standard; to test; as, to prove the strength of gunpowder
      or of ordnance; to prove the contents of a vessel by a
      standard measure.
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            Thou hast proved mine heart.          --Ps. xvii. 3.
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   2. To evince, establish, or ascertain, as truth, reality, or
      fact, by argument, testimony, or other evidence.
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            They have inferred much from slender premises, and
            conjectured when they could not prove. --J. H.
                                                  Newman.
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   3. To ascertain or establish the genuineness or validity of;
      to verify; as, to prove a will.
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   4. To gain experience of the good or evil of; to know by
      trial; to experience; to suffer.
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            Where she, captived long, great woes did prove.
                                                  --Spenser.
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   5. (Arith.) To test, evince, ascertain, or verify, as the
      correctness of any operation or result; thus, in
      subtraction, if the difference between two numbers, added
      to the lesser number, makes a sum equal to the greater,
      the correctness of the subtraction is proved.
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   6. (Printing) To take a trial impression of; to take a proof
      of; as, to prove a page.
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   Syn: To try; verify; justify; confirm; establish; evince;
        manifest; show; demonstrate.
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