DEMONSTRATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does demonstrate mean? 

• DEMONSTRATE (verb)
  The verb DEMONSTRATE has 4 senses:

1. give an exhibition of to an interested audience

2. establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment

3. provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes

4. march in protest; take part in a demonstration

  Familiarity information: DEMONSTRATE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEMONSTRATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they demonstrate    ... he / she / it demonstrates   
Past simple: demonstrated   
Past participle: demonstrated   
-ing form: demonstrating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give an exhibition of to an interested audience

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

demo; demonstrate; exhibit; present; show

Context example:

We will demo the new software in Washington

Hypernyms (to "demonstrate" is one way to...):

show (make visible or noticeable)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "demonstrate"):

bring home (make understandable and clear)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Derivation:

demonstration (a show or display; the act of presenting something to sight or view)

demonstration (a visual presentation showing how something works)

demonstrator (a teacher or teacher's assistant who demonstrates the principles that are being taught)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

demonstrate; establish; prove; shew; show

Context example:

The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture

Hypernyms (to "demonstrate" is one way to...):

affirm; confirm; corroborate; substantiate; support; sustain (establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "demonstrate"):

prove oneself (show one's ability or courage)

prove (prove formally; demonstrate by a mathematical, formal proof)

contradict; negate (prove negative; show to be false)

stultify (prove to be of unsound mind or demonstrate someone's incompetence)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

demonstrative (serving to demonstrate)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

attest; certify; demonstrate; evidence; manifest

Context example:

This decision demonstrates his sense of fairness

Hypernyms (to "demonstrate" is one way to...):

bear witness; evidence; prove; show; testify (provide evidence for)

Verb group:

attest (establish or verify the usage of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "demonstrate"):

authenticate (establish the authenticity of something)

reflect (give evidence of the quality of)

reflect (give evidence of a certain behavior)

notarise; notarize (authenticate as a notary)

condemn (demonstrate the guilt of (someone))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They demonstrate that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

demonstrative (serving to demonstrate)

Sense 4

Meaning:

March in protest; take part in a demonstration

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

demonstrate; march

Context example:

Thousands demonstrated against globalization during the meeting of the most powerful economic nations in Seattle

Hypernyms (to "demonstrate" is one way to...):

dissent; protest; resist (express opposition through action or words)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "demonstrate"):

picket (serve as pickets or post pickets)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

demonstration (a public display of group feelings (usually of a political nature))

demonstrator (someone who participates in a public display of group feeling)

 Context examples 

Czubryt et al identified PGC-1a as a key target of the MEF2/HDAC regulatory pathway and demonstrated this pathway's importance in maintenance of cardiac mitochondrial function.

(PGC1a Regulation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

More recently, CCR3 expression has been demonstrated on basophils and Th2-type T cells, suggesting possible roles for CCR3 in the genesis and maintenance of allergic inflammation.

(Allergy Chemokine Network Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Additionally, in vitro studies demonstrate that this agent induces DNA breakage in a dose-dependent manner.

(Artesunate, NCI Thesaurus)

A possible subcellular localization in the mitochondria has been demonstrated for the mouse homolog of this protein which shares 92% identity with the human protein.

(AU RNA Binding Protein, NCI Thesaurus/LocusLink)

Studies have demonstrated that Src family PTKs are activated initially and serve to phosphorylate CD79a and CD79b thereby creating phosphotyrosine motifs that recruit downstream signaling proteins.

(BCR Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

The regulatory role of this protein in cell death was demonstrated in epithelial cells which undergo apoptosis while integrin mediated matrix contacts are lost.

(BCL2-associated Athanogene 4, NCI Thesaurus/LocusLink)

The results demonstrate that computational chemistry and supercomputing technology can be used to model membrane proteins more accurately in an environment that mimics their physiological environment.

(Study shows limitations of method for determining protein structure, National Science Foundation)

She had sprung from her chair, as she saw signs that I proposed to demonstrate some of my wants.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Silicon is known for being nontoxic, but researchers had not been able to demonstrate that silicon nanocrystals can up-convert photons, leaving this promising cancer treatment tantalizingly out of reach.

(Making higher energy light to fight cancer, National Science Foundation)

The New Horizons Atmospheres team observed Pluto’s atmosphere as far as 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) above the surface, demonstrating that Pluto’s nitrogen-rich atmosphere is quite extended.

(New Horizons Discovers Frozen Plains in the Heart of Pluto’s ‘Heart’, NASA)