corroborate

corroborate — verb

1. To provide new information or evidence that makes an existing claim, story, or a

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

To provide new information or evidence that makes an existing claim, story, or account more likely to be true.

Example

Rachel's account of the break-in was corroborated by fingerprints found on the window frame.

passive: be corroborated by [evidence]

Sayaka said she saw the car speed away, and a neighbor later corroborated her story.

Common collocations
  • corroborate an account
  • corroborate a story
  • corroborate a claim
  • corroborate testimony
Synonyms
  • confirm

    more general; does not necessarily require new evidence

  • support

    less formal; broader meaning

  • back up

    informal equivalent

  • verify

    focuses on checking correctness rather than adding weight

Antonyms
  • contradict

    directly opposes the claim

  • refute

    proves something is false through evidence

Grammar Patterns

corroborate + noun phrase (account/statement/claim/story)

Usage Note

Frequently used in the passive voice when the evidence or source doing the corroborating is the main focus. The subject is typically evidence, data, a witness, or an account — never a feeling or emotion.

Common Mistakes

Her sad expression corroborated her mood.
Her sad expression matched her mood.
'corroborate' is used for facts and evidence, not feelings or personal states.
She corroborated with the detective.
She corroborated the detective's account of the events.
'corroborate' is transitive and takes the thing being supported as object, not a person.

2. To strengthen or confirm a theory, hypothesis, or research finding by providing

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

To strengthen or confirm a theory, hypothesis, or research finding by providing supporting evidence that comes from an independent source.

Example

Paloma's experiment corroborated the hypothesis that music practice improves concentration.

corroborate + hypothesis + that-clause

New satellite data corroborated the team's findings about glacier melting rates.

Common collocations
  • corroborate a hypothesis
  • corroborate a theory
  • corroborate findings
  • corroborate results
  • corroborate data
Synonyms
  • validate

    stronger; implies formal confirmation of correctness

  • substantiate

    more formal; implies providing substantial evidence

  • authenticate

    focuses on proving something is genuine or true

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

corroborate + noun phrase (hypothesis/theory/findings/results)

Usage Note

Common in academic and research writing. The object is usually a finding, result, hypothesis, or theory — abstract concepts supported by data. Often implies that the confirming evidence comes from a different methodology or independent source.

Common Mistakes

The experiment corroborated the chemicals.
The experiment corroborated the theory about how the chemicals react.
'corroborate' takes an abstract claim or finding as object, not a physical object.

Word family

  • corroboration
    nounC1
  • corroborative
    adjectiveC2
  • corroborating
    adjectiveC2
  • corroborated
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words relate to establishing truth, but they differ in emphasis. Corroborate specifically means supporting an existing claim with new, independent evidence — it always implies adding weight from a separate source. Confirm is more general and can mean removing doubt by any means, including checking against known facts. Substantiate is more formal and suggests providing enough solid evidence to turn a claim into a proven fact. Verify focuses on checking that something is correct or true, often against a standard or original. For example, you verify a passport number against a database, you confirm a meeting time by email, you substantiate a legal accusation with documents, but you corroborate a witness's story with surveillance footage.

corroborate ↗confirm ↗substantiateverify ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

From Latin 'corroborare' — 'com-' meaning 'together' and 'roborare' meaning 'to strengthen,' from 'robur' (oak, strength). The original sense was physical strengthening; by the 1700s it had shifted to its modern meaning of strengthening an argument or claim with supporting evidence.