direct proof
- noun
- /dəˈrɛkt pruːf/
- Specialized
- The physicists gathered data that served as a direct proof of their hypothesis regarding particle behavior.
Examples
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Do you have any direct proof that they're wrong?
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It would be interesting to have a direct proof of the equivalence of these two adversaries.
Academic text (1994) -
The most dramatic result was the vanishing of the Hall voltage, which offers direct proof that excitons form and that they act as neutral particles.
Academic text (2004) -
The mathematician presented a direct proof to demonstrate the theorem's validity without relying on assumptions.
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After extensive testing, the team finally provided a direct proof that supported their original claim.
How Constructive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'direct proof' is compositionally transparent: 'direct' (straight, immediate) modifies 'proof' to indicate a proof that proceeds straightforwardly from premises without detours or extra assumptions. This logical, literal combination is common in mathematical terminology across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Direct proof comes from the image of a straight path: direct suggests 'straight' and proof is a way to show something is 'true'. So a direct proof shows a statement is 'true' by moving straight from known facts to the conclusion without extra assumptions.