proved or proven?: Usage Guide
The past participle proven, originally the past participle of preve, a Middle English variant of prove that survived in Scotland, has gradually worked its way into standard English over the past three and a half centuries. It seems to have first become established in legal use and to have come only slowly into literary use. Tennyson was one of its earliest frequent users, probably for metrical reasons. It was disapproved by 19th century grammarians, one of whom included it in a list of "words that are not words." Surveys made some 50 or 60 years ago indicated that proved was about four times as frequent as proven. But our evidence from the last 30 or 35 years shows this no longer to be the case. As a past participle proven is now about as frequent as proved in all contexts. As an attributive adjective
proven is much more common than proved.
Synonyms
Examples of prove in a Sentence
Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 24 Dec. 2024
And the Saints did nothing during the game to prove anyone wrong.
—The Athletic Nfl Staff, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
The first round of the College Football Playoffs proved to be more lopsided than many anticipated.
—Giovanni Malloy, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
However, the team has proven that upper-echelon competition is their Achilles heel.
—Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prove 
Dictionary Entries Near prove
Cite this Entry
“Prove.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prove. Accessed 28 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prove
verb
; proving
Legal Definition
prove
transitive verb
; proving
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