| 词组 | evidence |
| 释义 | evidence Evidence has been used as a transitive verb for many centuries, but it has retained something of a formal quality that has invited occasional hostility from usage commentators. Fowler 1926 approved its use when its meaning was clearly "to serve as evidence of; prove the existence, occurrence, or truth of (as in "The book evidences the author's careful scholarship"), but he considered it incorrect when used simply as a synonym of show or exhibit (as in "The author evidences careful scholarship"). Later commentators have not concerned themselves with any such distinction, being content to describe evidence as "ugly" (Partridge 1942), "pretentious" (Copperud 1964), and "not as good a word as show" (Flesch 1964). The distinction promoted by Fowler is one that will undoubtedly seem obscure to many people, and it is not widely observed: • ... spruce trees ... evidencing similar but less spectacular golden traits —George E. Toles, Trees, Winter 1975 • Mr. Pais evidences Einstein's cast of mind —Timothy Ferris, N. Y. Times Book Rev., 28 Nov. 1982 • ... a mistaken adverbial punctiliousness that is often evidenced even at Harvard —Lynn M. Salerno, letter, in Safire 1984 • ... the ensemble evidences a puzzling equivocation —Peter Plagens, Art in America, July 1986 Each of these passages would be criticized by Fowler, but the contexts are obviously standard, and the use is no longer seriously regarded as erroneous (except, perhaps, by a few of Fowler's more devoted disciples). The formality of evidence is the characteristic that best distinguishes it from show and even from exhibit. This formality is apparent in all its uses: • The intellectual climate of our time evidences a rebirth of interest in philosophical first principles — Frederick Sontag, Jour, of Religion, July 1954 • ... is evidenced most clearly in what we may refer to as "the creative aspect of language use" —Noam Chomsky, Columbia Forum, Spring 1968 • ... it evidenced an appallingly petty malevolence on their part —Marshall Frady, N. Y. Rev. of Books, 6 Apr. 1972 Such formality can sometimes be inappropriate (or pretentious, as Copperud puts it), but it is not invariably so. The question to ask yourself when considering the use of evidence is whether the audience, tone, and subject of your writing make formality suitable. If they do, then evidence is as good a verb as any other. |
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