Search the Dictionary

act of altering for the better, or correcting what is erroneous or faulty; correction; improvement. "He lies in his sin without repentance or emendation." Jer. Taylor.

To prove; to evince. [R.] Hooker.

It has charge of the construction of fortifications for land and seacoast defense, the improvement of rivers and harbors, the construction of lighthouses, etc., and, in time of war, supervises the engineering operations of the armies in the field.

The act of making rich, or that which enriches; increase of value by improvements, embellishment, etc.; decoration; embellishment.

To attribute; to ascribe. [Obs.] The ancient proverb . . . entitles this work . . . peculiarly to God himself. Milton.

e actors, after the conclusion of the play. A good play no epilogue, yet . . . good plays prove the better by the help of good epilogues. Shak.

s, to espy land; to espy a man in a crowd. As one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, . . . he espied his money. Gen. xlii. 27. A goodly vessel did I then espy Come like a giant from a haven broad. Wordsworth.

To secure public recognition in favor of; to prove and cause to be accepted as true; as, to establish a fact, usage, principle, opinion, doctrine, etc. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. Deut. xix. 15.

To evince; to prove. [Obs.] Cheyne.

To render evident or clear; to prove; to evince; as, to evidence a fact, or the guilt of an offender. Milton.

To show in a clear manner; to prove beyond any reasonable doubt; to manifest; to make evident; to bring to light; to evidence. Common sense and experience must and will evince the truth of this. South.

Capable of being proved or clearly brought to light; demonstrable. Sir. M. Hale. --E*vin"ci*bly, adv.

Tending to prove; having the power to demonstrate; demonstrative; indicative.

almost every general rule has its exceptions. Such rare exceptions, shining in the dark, Prove, rather than impeach, the just remark. Cowper.

of a measure beyond sufficiency, necessity, or duty; that which exceeds what is usual or prover; immoderateness; superfluity; superabundance; extravagance; as, an excess of provisions or of light. To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet, . . . Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. Shak.…

To clear from alleged fault or guilt; to prove to be guiltless; to relieve of blame; to acquit. He exculpated himself from being the author of the heroic epistle. Mason. I exculpate him further for his writing against me. Milman.

To prove or show by an attested copy.

Exertion for the sake of training or improvement whether physical, intellectual, or moral; practice to acquire skill, knowledge, virtue, perfectness, grace, etc. "Desire of knightly exercise." Spenser. An exercise of the eyes and memory. Locke.

To make practical acquaintance with; to try personally; to prove by use or trial; to have trial of; to have the lot or fortune of; to have befall one; to be affected by; to feel; as, to experience pain or pleasure; to experience poverty; to experience a change of views. The partial failure and disappointment which he h…

Atrial or special observation, made to confirm or disprove something doubtful; esp., one under conditions determined by the experimenter; an act or operation undertaken in order to discover some unknown principle or effect, or to test, establish, or illustrate some suggest or known truth; practical test; poof. A politi…