Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To declare the provable truth or validity of; affirm.
- transitive verb To corroborate or confirm; vouch for.
- transitive verb To accept responsibility for (an action, for example); acknowledge.
- transitive verb To avow; confess.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To affirm or acknowledge openly; declare or assert with positiveness; proclaim.
- To admit, confess, or avow.
- To maintain, vindicate, or justify; make good; answer for; establish; guarantee; substantiate.
- To appeal to, or cite as proof or warrant: as, to
avouch the authorities on any subject. - To give assurance or guaranty; vouch: as, “I can avouch for her reputation,”
- noun Evidence; testimony; assurance.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete Evidence; declaration.
- transitive verb obsolete To appeal to; to cite or claim as authority.
- transitive verb To maintain a just or true; to vouch for.
- transitive verb To declare or assert positively and as matter of fact; to affirm openly.
- transitive verb To acknowledge deliberately; to admit; to confess; to sanction.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
freely andopenly admit . - verb To
confess . - verb To
confirm orverify , toaffirm thevalidity of. - noun obsolete
evidence ;declaration
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb admit openly and bluntly; make no bones about
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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“There can be no better rede, and we will all avouch it,” said the citizens.
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“I will be open with you, my father — bid these men stand out of ear-shot, and I will tell you all I know of this mysterious business; and muse not, good father, though it may pass thy wit to expound it, for I avouch to you it is too dark for mine own.”
The Monastery 2008
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We do not hear you avouch your own knowledge of this matter, further than your belief resting upon the demeanour of this hound towards the Marquis of Montserrat.
The Talisman 2008
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The Duke had now recovered his breath, and was able to sit up and give attention to what passed betwixt Dunois and Crawford, while the former pleaded eagerly that there was no occasion to mention in the matter the name of the most noble Orleans, while he was ready to take the whole blame on his own shoulders, and to avouch that the Duke had only come thither in friendship to him.
Quentin Durward 2008
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Then the Kazi bade silence the women and said to the prisoner, “These folk avouch that thou didst enter their dwelling-house and steal their goods: belike thou stolest less than a quarter dinar221?”
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They avouch that every element and different state of being have animals resembling those of another element, as there be fishes at sea resembling Monks of late order in all their hoods and dresses, so as the Roman invention of good and bad daemons and guardian angels particularly assigned, is called by them ane ignorant mistake, springing only from this originall.
A Legend of Montrose 2008
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Then Affan and Bulukiya fared on for the hills where grew the herbs; and, as they went about with the Queen, each plant they passed began to speak and avouch its virtues by permission of Allah the Most High.
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Fear makes our imagination conceive what it list, invites the devil to come to us, as [1667] Agrippa and Cardan avouch, and tyranniseth over our phantasy more than all other affections, especially in the dark.
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Ne'er shall woman avouch herself so rightly beloved,
Poems and Fragments 2006
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Hewn, so stories avouch, in a mountain's kernel; an hero
Poems and Fragments 2006
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