evidence

evidence n Evidence, testimony, deposition, affidavit are, in their legal senses, closely related but not synonymous terms. The last three designate forms of evidence, or material submitted to a competent legal tribunal as a means of ascertaining where the truth lies in a question of fact. Evidence also implies the intention of the side offering the material to use it as a basis for inference and argument and as a medium of proof.

Testimony is evidence offered by persons (as eyewitnesses or experts) who are in a position to provide pertinent information. It implies declaration under oath or affirmation, usually on the stand in open court. Testimony does not necessarily constitute favorable evidence for the side that calls the witness, for its effect may vary with such matters as inferences that may be drawn from it favorable to the opposition or new aspects and emphases elicited by cross-examination.

Deposition, though occasionally used interchangeably with testimony, is more usually used to designate a form of testimony that replaces testimony in open court or, more often, provides information for pretrial procedures and is given orally in response to questioning by competent officers, taken down in writing, and sworn to or properly affirmed.

Affidavit designates a written declaration made upon solemn oath before a recognized magistrate or officer. An affidavit may sometimes be used as testimony, but when so used it is as a rule because a witness cannot take the stand. An affidavit submitted as testimony may be distinguished from a deposition; when used specifically and in contrast with deposition, affidavit always implies that the declaration has been obtained by one side to the dispute and that there has been no cross-examination.

evidence vb evince, manifest, demonstrate, *show

Analogous words: *reveal, disclose, betray, divulge: display, exhibit, expose, *show: prove, indicate, betoken, attest, bespeak evident, manifest, patent, distinct, obvious, apparent, palpable, plain, clear are comparable when they mean readily perceived or apprehended.

Evident implies the existence of visible signs, all of which point to the one conclusion; it may be applied to something (as another person's state of mind, a hidden condition, or an imminent event) which is beyond the range of the senses but can be inferred from the outward indications

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her evident delight in the gift

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even in his vices the contradiction was evident. His conscience was severe— Carlos Baker

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the sustained impartiality and evident learning of his work— Cheyney

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Manifest implies an outward revelation or expression or an open exhibition; it is applied as a rule to something which is displayed so clearly that its recognition seemingly involves no inference

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his joy in the prospect of departure from the Five Towns, from her ... was more manifest than she could bear— Bennett

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where the work of such a master [as Milton] is at its best, the greatness of his spirit is most greatly manifest— L. P. Smith

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Patent implies an opposition to what is imperceptible or obscure but existent; it therefore is applied to things (as a cause, an effect, a mistake, or an imperfection) which are not invariably or as a class evident or manifest

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the seller is required by law to disclose to the buyer latent as well as patent defects in the article sold

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a man is . . . in jeopardy even when the error is patent on the face of the record, as when he is tried on a defective indictment— Justice Holmes

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three very patent reasons for the comparatively slow advance of our children— Grandgent

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Distinct (see also DISTINCT) implies such sharpness of outline or of definition that the thing requires no effort of the eyes to see or discern

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distinct features

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his handwriting is unusually distinct

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or of the ears to hear or interpret

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distinct utterance

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distinct enunciation

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or of the mind to apprehend or comprehend without confusion

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the course of his reasoning is not only evident, it is distinct

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he gave a distinct account of everything that occurred

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Obvious stresses ease in discovery or, sometimes, in accounting for and often connotes conspicuousness in what is discovered or little need of perspicacity in the discoverer; it is therefore often applied to something not successfully concealed or something crudely manifest

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obvious heirs he had none, any more than he had obvious progenitors— Sackville— West

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the avidity with which he surrendered himself to her perfectly obvious methods— Mary Austin

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acting on the conviction of Mr. Justice Holmes that "at this time we need education in the obvious more than investigation of the obscure"— Frankfurter

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Apparent (see also APPARENT 2) is often so close to evident in meaning that the two words are difficult to distinguish. But evident usually implies inference directly from visible signs or effects, and apparent from evidence plus more or less elaborate reasoning; therefore apparent is especially applicable to something which is apprehended through an induction, a deduction, or a similar course of reasoning

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the absurdity of their contention is apparent to one who knows the effects produced by the same causes in the past

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as experience accumulated it gradually became apparent that the oils of any of the trees . . . were equally efficacious— Heiser

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deposits of transported material . . . are perhaps the most widely apparent results of the glaciation— Amer. Guide Series: N. H.

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Palpable (see also PERCEPTIBLE) basically implies perceptibility through the sense of touch; it is often extended to perception by the other senses, excluding sight, or by the mind and typically suggests ease of perception or readiness of interpretation

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'tis probable that thou hast never lived, and palpable that thou hast never loved— Garnett

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yet, despite these precautions, a palpable uneasiness persists— Moorehead

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beneath it all was a hush, almost palpable— Mailery

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Plain and clear are less formal and literary than the preceding terms. Both are applied to something that is immediately apprehended or unmistakably understood, but plain implies familiarity or distinctness or a lack of intricacy or complexity, while clear suggests an absence of whatever confuses or muddles the mind or obscures the issues

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a plain answer to a direct question— Crothers

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yes, that makes much which was dark quite clear to me— Galsworthy

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proof as sharp and clear as anything which is known— Darrow

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Analogous words: *perceptible, sensible, palpable, tangible, appreciable, ponderable: conspicuous, prominent, *noticeable