authenticate

Word family

• authentication
  nounC1
• authenticator
  nounC1
• authentic
  adjectiveB2
• authentically
  adverbC1
• authenticity
  nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

These four verbs all involve confirming that something is real or correct, but they part ways on what is being checked. 'Authenticate' is the narrowest: it is reserved for objects whose genuineness is in doubt — a painting, an antique vase, a historical document — and usually involves an expert or a scientific test. 'Verify' is the everyday word for checking that any piece of information, claim, or fact is true ('verify your email address', 'verify the figures'). 'Validate' tends to apply to arguments, theories, and forms of paperwork that need to be shown sound or legally acceptable ('the parking ticket was validated'). 'Certify' goes one step further: it means issuing an official statement, often in writing, that something meets a required standard. So a lab might authenticate a coin, a colleague might verify a date, an inspector might validate a report, and an authority might certify the result.

Common collocations

Etymology

Borrowed into English in the early 1600s from Medieval Latin 'authenticatus', the past participle of 'authenticare' meaning 'to make valid'. That Latin word grew out of Greek 'authentikos', meaning 'original' or 'coming from the maker himself' — built from 'autos' (self) plus a root tied to 'doing' or 'acting'. Early English uses focused on confirming legal documents and historical relics; the modern technology sense, where computer systems check a user's identity, only became common in the late twentieth century.