Military. to attack or make a show of force to deceive an enemy.
Origin
1545-55; < Latindēmonstrātus, past participle of dēmonstrāre to show, point out, equivalent to dē-de- + monstrāre to show, verbal derivative of monstrum sign, portent
Related forms
demonstratedly, adverb
counterdemonstrate, verb (used without object), counterdemonstrated, counterdemonstrating.
predemonstrate, verb (used with object), predemonstrated, predemonstrating.
subdemonstrate, verb (used with object), subdemonstrated, subdemonstrating.
undemonstrated, adjective
well-demonstrated, adjective
Synonyms
1. show, confirm, verify, corroborate.
Examples from the web for demonstrate
Instead, they have to demonstrate that they are actively benefiting the public.
No longer will officials and the public feel so constrained by a need to demonstrate a unity of purpose.
Your primary goal is not to show off your profundity but to demonstrate how effectively you can communicate.
These comments demonstrate the usual mix of information and misinformation in the public domain regarding atomic energy.
These projects will demonstrate the profound ways in which geography matters to all of us.
In order to continue leveraging debt, they need to demonstrate growth.
Macaque mothers demonstrate tool use to their young.
The three examples described here demonstrate the range of possibilities.
To demonstrate how she finds and refinishes pieces, she looked for an old chair to revamp.
Loads of laws made especially to control people's freedom and make them not to be able to demonstrate peacefully.
British Dictionary definitions for demonstrate
demonstrate
/ˈdɛmənˌstreɪt/
verb
1.
(transitive) to show, manifest, or prove, esp by reasoning, evidence, etc: it is easy to demonstrate the truth of this proposition
2.
(transitive) to evince; reveal the existence of: the scheme later demonstrated a fatal flaw
3.
(transitive) to explain or illustrate by experiment, example, etc
4.
(transitive) to display, operate, and explain the workings of (a machine, product, etc)
5.
(intransitive) to manifest support, protest, etc, by public parades or rallies
6.
(intransitive) to be employed as a demonstrator of machinery, etc
7.
(intransitive) (military) to make a show of force, esp in order to deceive one's enemy
Word Origin
C16: from Latin dēmonstrāre to point out, from monstrāre to show
Word Origin and History for demonstrate
v.
1550s, "to point out," from Latin demonstratus, past participle of demonstrare (see demonstration). Meaning "to point out by argument or deduction" is from 1570s. Related: Demonstrated; demonstrating.