Evident

How to spell evident

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce evident

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does evident mean?

1. adjectiveClearly seen or understood; obvious without needing further proof.

Evident in a sentence

• The damage to the roof was evident from the street.

• Her relief was evident the moment the results came through.

Where does evident come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin evidens, which meant 'clearly visible' or 'obvious to the eye'. It was built from the prefix e- (a form of ex-, meaning 'out') and the verb videre, meaning 'to see', so the literal idea was something that 'shows itself out' so plainly that nobody can miss it. English took the word in during the late 1300s, borrowing it through Old French evident, and the meaning has barely shifted since: if something is evident, it is so visible to the mind that it needs no proof. The same videre root still sits inside a whole family of English words, including 'video', 'vision', 'provide', and 'evidence', which is why the spelling keeps that telltale 'vid' in the middle. Remembering that buried 'see' word can help anchor the second syllable, which the unstressed pronunciation tends to blur.

How the word is built

• e- (from ex-: out)
• vid (from videre: to see)
• -ent (adjective suffix)