Past tense of prove
regular verb
The past tense of prove is proved. The past participle is proved or proven.
Forms of prove
| Base form (V1) | prove /ˈpɹuːv/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | proved /ˈpɹuːvd/ |
| Past participle (V3) | proved /ˈpɹuːvd/ proven /ˈpɹuː.vn̩/ |
| Present participle | proving /ˈpɹuːvɪŋ/ |
| Third person singular | proves /pɹuːvz/ |
Proved and proven in a sentence
- Importantly, the hypothesis cannot be proven to be true—it can only be proven to be false.2025, Larry V. Hedges, Elizabeth Tipton, Designing Small Evaluation Studies, page 302
- It proved to be a cold day.
- Mathematical laws can be proved purely through mathematics, without scientific experimentation.From the entry law
- The circus strong man proved his strength by bending an iron rod, and then straightening it.From the entry rod
- The Thatcherite experiment proved the private sector can railroad as inefficiently as a state monopoly.From the entry railroad
Meaning of prove
- verb To demonstrate that something is true or viable; to give proof for; to bear out; to testify.
- verb To turn out; to manifest.
- verb To turn out to be.
Questions about the past tense of prove
- What is the past tense of prove?
- The past tense of prove is proved.
- What is the past participle of prove?
- The past participle of prove is proved or proven.
- Is prove a regular or irregular verb?
- Prove is a regular verb: its past tense adds -d.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: prove (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Past tense of prove.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/prove. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.