Wiktionary

demonstrate

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin dēmonstrātus, the perfect passive participle of dēmonstrō (“to show, point at”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French démontrer.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈdɛmənstɹeɪt/, (Indic) /ɖeˈmɒnˌsʈreːʈ/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

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demonstrate (third-person singular simple present demonstrates, present participle demonstrating, simple past and past participle demonstrated)

  1. (transitive) to show how to use (something).
    Can you demonstrate the new tools for us?
    • 1987 February 8, Richard Zachs, “Candy is dandy (though maybe not liquor) - so for this Valentine's Day, video may be a whole lot more fun”, in The New York Daily News:
      In this tape, a velvet-voiced narrator provides a stroke-by-stroke guide to massaging your partner. As she speaks, comely nude couples demonstrate.
  2. to show the steps taken to create a logical argument or equation.
  3. (intransitive) to participate in or organize a demonstration.
    Those people outside are demonstrating against the election results.
  4. (transitive) to show, display, or present; to prove or make evident
    • 2016, David A. Graham, “Donald Trump's Disastrous Debate”, in The Atlantic, page http://www.theatlantic.com/liveblogs/2016/10/second-presidential-debate-clinton-trump/503495/:
      The debate was not long on policy, as questions about the Affordable Care Act and the war in Syria demonstrated.
    • 2023 March 22, Paul Clifton, “CILT report urges £50m infill electrification schemes”, in RAIL, number 979, page 8:
      "What we are trying to demonstrate is that freight lines at lower speeds can be electrified much more cheaply. […] "

Conjugation

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Conjugation of demonstrate
infinitive (to) demonstrate
present tense past tense
1st-person singular demonstrate demonstrated
2nd-person singular demonstrate, demonstratest† demonstrated, demonstratedst†
3rd-person singular demonstrates, demonstrateth† demonstrated
plural demonstrate
subjunctive demonstrate demonstrated
imperative demonstrate —
participles demonstrating demonstrated

† Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Translations to be checked

See also

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Esperanto

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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demonstrate

  1. present adverbial passive participle of demonstri

Ido

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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demonstrate

  1. adverbial present passive participle of demonstrar

Latin

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Verb

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dēmōnstrāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of dēmōnstrō

Participle

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dēmōnstrāte

  1. vocative masculine singular of dēmōnstrātus
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