italki - Is proof stronger than evidence? Let me quote a phrase from a book I am reading: The object hanging

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Is proof stronger than evidence? Let me quote a phrase from a book I am reading: The object hanging before her was from another world, millions of miles away. And trapped within it was evidence - no, proof - that man was not alone in the universe. What strikes me here is that proof should mean something else than evidence. If I analyze the sentence, it seems that proof is a sort of strónger evidence. Is that the case? In the Dutch English dictionaries I am consulting both words, proof and evidence, get translated to the exact same words in Dutch. Is proof 'stronger' than evidence? Or are they just synonyms?

Nov 11, 2015 10:38 PM

Answers · 7

Evidence is something that supports a hypothesis or idea, in this case that man is not alone in the universe. Proof would be something that conclusively demonstrates that is the case i.e. the theory is not a hypothesis any more but fact.

November 11, 2015

Hi! You are exactly right. Evidence is something that points you to a probable conclusion, but there might still be other options to consider. Evidence is usually something you use to support an argument. Proof is usually something that there is no dispute about; nobody can argue against it. So yes, proof is usually stronger.

November 11, 2015

Those two words tend be used synonymously. Though evidence tends to be used in a more formal setting like in a trial. Evidence is usually the proof for something, so with evidence you're proving that something is true. In terms of which one is stronger it all depends on the context that you'd be using it in. In that example evidence works better because it indicates that the narrator has tangible facts showing that man is not alone in the universe.

November 16, 2015

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