validity

noun

va·​lid·​i·​ty və-ˈli-də-tē 

va-

: the quality or state of being valid: such as

a

: the state of being acceptable according to the law

The validity of the contract is being questioned.

What the federal courts have ruled … is that renunciations made behind barbed wire were essentially under duress, and thus of no legal validity.

—Roger Daniels

b

: the quality of being well-grounded, sound, or correct

the validity of an argument/theory

Other researchers have questioned the validity of the test results.

Later he acknowledged that there was no validity to his report.

—David Hiltbrand

Examples of validity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Judge’s ruling blocking Trump deportations is invalid, argues WSJ column: Dan Huff interview Dan Huff, Senior Fellow at American Path Initiative, elaborates on his recent op-ed that challenges the validity of U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg’s deportation order. —The Hill, 4 Apr. 2025

This type of setting could have helped even the most intransigent of scholars realize that reports of Khmer Rouge atrocities likely had validity. —Ray Cavanaugh, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025

Canada’s transportation minister later froze the payments and is investigating the validity of the sales. —Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2025

But there isn’t enough information about such methodological checks in Shamir’s paper to make that judgment, which casts doubt on the validity of the conclusions. —Paul M. Sutter, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1577, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for validity

• acidity
• aridity
• avidity
• cupidity
• fluidity
• humidity
• liquidity
• lucidity
• morbidity
• placidity
• rancidity
• rapidity

Kids Definition

validity

noun

va·​lid·​i·​ty

və-ˈlid-ət-ē,

va-

: the quality or state of being valid