Evidence is information, facts, or signs indicating whether a claim or belief is true or valid. It is used to support conclusions, arguments, or investigations, and its strength depends on reliability, relevance, and sufficiency. In discourse, the word can refer to material presented in courts, studies, or everyday reasoning as proof or corroboration.
- You may misplace the Schwa: in fast speech, the middle /ɪ/ often reduces to a very short vowel or disappears before the /d/. Practice: say EV-i-dence slowly, then reduce to EV-dəns. - Final cluster issue: Some speakers blend /d/ into the following /ən/ making /ˈɛvɪdən/; keep /d/ clearly pronounced before the /ə/ and end with /ns/. - Vowel quality: Avoid turning the first vowel into a lower or higher vowel; keep the /ɛ/ as in bed rather than /æ/ or /eɪ/. - Misplacing stress: Never stress the second syllable; keep EV-i-dence with primary stress on EV. - Linking errors: In connected speech, you might link with a following word ending in a vowel; ensure the /d/ ends the word cleanly to avoid intrusion.
- US: /ˈɛvɪdəns/ with clear /ɛ/ and a more pronounced /ɪ/ in the second syllable; the /ə/ before /ns/ is a weak schwa; keep the /n/ before /s/ distinct. - UK: /ˈɛvɪdəns/ similar, but with slightly crisper consonants and less vowel reduction in rapid speech; may be slightly stiffer articulation. - AU: /ˈɛvɪdəns/ or /ˈeɪvɪdəns/ depending on speaker; often with less rhoticity influence; vowels may be a touch more open; maintain central schwa in the third syllable. - IPA references: US /ˈɛvɪdəns/, UK /ˈɛvɪdəns/, AU /ˈɛvɪdəns/; focus on keeping /v/ clear and /d/ audible.
"The detective gathered evidence from the crime scene to support the theory."
"Her research provided robust evidence that the treatment was effective."
"There is little evidence to justify his hasty conclusions."
"The lawyer presented new evidence that changed the outcome of the case."
Evidence comes from the Latin word evidentia, which means ‘clearness, obviousness.’ Evidentia itself derives from the Latin evidere, meaning ‘to show or reveal,’ formed from e- (out) + videre (to see). The term migrated into Old French as evidance and Middle English as evidence, retaining the core sense of ‘that which makes something plain or visible’—information or signs that make a claim clear. Over time, in legal and scholarly usage, evidence evolved to refer to material that helps establish truth or probability in support of a proposition. In modern English, it encompasses data, documents, testimony, and empirical findings used to substantiate assertions, arguments, or hypotheses across domains such as science, law, journalism, and everyday reasoning, with emphasis on relevance, reliability, and sufficiency. First known uses in English date to the 14th–15th centuries, expanding in the 16th–18th centuries with legal and scientific contexts, and becoming a central term in evidence-based practice in the 20th century and beyond.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Evidence" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Evidence" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Evidence"
-eve sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
🎵 Rhyme tip: Practicing with rhyming words helps you master similar sound patterns and improves your overall pronunciation accuracy.
Pronounce as /ˈɛvɪdəns/ in US and UK. The stress is on the first syllable: EV-i-dence. Begin with a short open-mid front vowel /ɛ/ as in 'bed', then a quick /v/, followed by a reduced /ɪ/ in the second syllable, the schwa /ə/ in the third, and end with /ns/. The final consonant cluster is often light but audible in careful speech. Audio reference: consult standard dictionaries like Cambridge or Oxford for clear audio.
Two common errors: (1) Overpronouncing the middle /ɪ/ as a full vowel like ‘ee’; keep it as a short /ɪ/ or reduced /ɪ/ in fast speech. (2) Merging /vɪ/ into /viː/ or dropping the /d/ in rapid speech, producing /ˈɛviːdəns/. Correction: articulate /v/ clearly, keep /ɪ/ short, and produce a crisp /d/ before the /ə/; practice with a slow pace then normalize.
US/UK share /ˈɛvɪdəns/ with primary stress on first syllable, rhoticity affects ending in connected speech. US tends to retain /r/? Not in this word; rhotic vs nonrhotic affects preceding vowels more; UK and US pronunciations typically similar, with minor vowel quality differences: US /ɛ/ can be slightly tenser; UK may sound slightly more rounded; AU typically /ˈe.vɪ.dəns/ with a clear /ɜː/ in some speakers? Generally AU aligns with /ˈɛvɪdən(t)s/.
The difficulty lies in the sequence of stops and the unstressed vowel reduction. The /v/ must be clearly voiced between two vowel sounds, and the /d/ occurs before a schwa, which can cause a tendency to vowel drop or assimilate. The word also has a light final /ns/ consonant cluster that can blur in casual speech. Focus on distinct /v/ and crisp /d/ with a precise /ə/ before /ns/.
Is there a risk of misplacing syllable stress with conjugations like ‘evidenced’ or ‘evidencing’? No. The base noun remains stressed on the first syllable /ˈɛvɪdəns/. When forming related forms (evidenced, evidencing), the stress typically remains on the first syllable or shifts in the verb form depending on tense, but in the noun, keep EV-i-dence prominent.
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- Shadowing: listen to a sentence including ‘evidence’ and repeat exactly after the rhythm; aim for 4–5 iterations focusing on EV- and the crisp /d/ before the schwa. - Minimal pairs: /ˈeɪvɪdəns/ vs /ˈɛvɪdəns/? Not a common minimal pair; instead, compare with ‘evident’ /ˈɛvɪdənt/ to hear the trailing n-s cluster;/practice with short phrases: ‘The evidence shows…’, ‘The evidence was overwhelming.’ - Rhythm practice: practice alternating stressed and unstressed syllables in a longer sentence; count beats: EV-i-dence (3 syllables, with strong start). Slow-to-fast. - Stress practice: practice putting primary stress on the first syllable in isolation and in context; try contrastive stress: “The Evi-dence shows” vs “The evidence SHOWS.” - Recording: record yourself reading a paragraph including “evidence”; compare to a native speaker; listen for the crisp /d/ and the “e” vs “i” quality in the second syllable.
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