witness
72
7.3
- noun
- /ˈwɪtnəs/
:
testimonio
- And you know, it's inspiring to bear witness to somebody who just had an idea and is really executing on it.
- bear witness
- witness to faith
- Christian witness
My Marks and scars I carry with me to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles.
- My Marks and scars I carry with me to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles.
Examples
-
You must bear witness to all you have seen.
-
We are bearing witness to a miracle.
-
We bear witness to the young man who wants to take his life.
-
And now I want America to bear witness.
-
And with your last breath you shall bear witness to the End of Days.
-
You need someone to bear witness to your pain to help you cut through this isolation.
-
Divisions do not permit us to bear credible witness to the Christian truth before the world.
Academic text (2011) -
In a sense, his own life would be a living out, a witnessing, to this tradition.
Academic text (1991) -
And so the way we heal those parts is what you did, which was to become a compassionate witness to the boy.
-
Many volunteers came to witness the charity event and support the cause.
Synonyms
58
4.3
A sign that shows a fact or quality is real
28
4.4
A public statement of religious faith by a person or church
21
4.7
A public statement saying you believe or feel something
Antonyms
Compounds
59
3.9
A government program that keeps people who testify safe by moving them and giving new names
- Specialized
23
4.6
A person with special knowledge who gives an opinion in court about a subject they know well
- Formal
21
6.0
A person whose statement is very important to the main question in a court case
19
5.6
A person who speaks in court about another person's good character and honesty
12
7.3
A person in a Christian group that teaches the world will end soon and tells others their beliefs
- Jargon
7
7.3
A witness expected to speak against the side that called them and questioned by the other lawyer
- Formal
4
8.8
Saying false things in court on purpose after promising to tell the truth
- UK
4
4.2
An enclosed area in a courtroom where a person sits to tell the judge or jury what they saw
- Formal
1
8.7
A witness called by a party whose evidence is likely harmful and may be questioned more freely
- Jargon
1
6.9
A person who gives evidence in court about what they personally saw or experienced
How Zealous
Surface Forms
Morphology
witness = wit (opaque) = wit + ness
The religious sense 'open declaration of faith' developed from older senses of testimony and is not transparently deducible from 'wit' + '-ness' for learners.
Etymology
Witness comes from wit 'knowledge', and in a religious sense it came to mean someone who shows or speaks about what they truly believe. So a spiritual witness is a person whose words or life make their faith known.