CLAIM CLUSTER

making, supporting, recognizing, questioning, thinking about, & supporting, criticizing, and doubting a claim

advance
- The following claim has been advanced, “…”

to put forward a claim

assert

- The teacher asserted that the students had not completed their homework.

to put forward an argument or state that something is true

conjecture
- Whether there is a risk or not is open to conjecture.

hypothesis/hypothesize

(pre)supposition

- That is only a supposition: you don't know for certain.

an idea assumed beforehand about a subject

surmise

- He could only surmise what had happened.

to assume; draw a conclusion w/o strong evidence

bolster

- He wished to bolster up his theories with hard data.

to provide support for an argument

buttress

- She clung to her shrinking faith as a buttress against despair.

to provide support for an argument

substantiate

The lawyer needed to substantiate his client’s alibi with evidence like phone records".

to provide evidence to support/prove a claim

corroborate

- A witness was able to corroborate his statement.

to confirm or support a claim

validate

- He seems to need other women’s attention to validate him as a man

to prove the accuracy of a claim

concede

- I had to concede that this was true.

to admit that an opposing claim is true or valid

acknowledge

- He called her name but she refused to acknowledge him.

to accept or admit the validity of a claim

rebut

- She has done nothing to rebut the charges.

to offer an argument against a claim believed to be false

refute

- There’s plenty of evidence to refute her on the facts.

to prove that a claim is false

grapple with

- The company has been grappling with financial issues.

to try to deal w/ or understand a difficult problem

ruminate about

- There’s enough to ruminate about ahead of a date, your outfit need not be one of them.

to think deeply about; turn smth over in one’s mind

infer

- The data seemed to infer that there would be market for the product.

to deduce/conclude from evidence and reasoning

proponent

- You might be a proponent of longer vacations, but your parents are proponents of a longer school year.

person who supports a claim/course of action / someone in favor of smth

detractor

- Despite his popularity, his many detractors still think his work is overrated.

person who criticizes a claim or course of action

skeptic

- She was skeptic whether this plan would actually work.

person who questions/doubts a claim