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In 1639, Scottish poet William Drummond responded to the politics of his day with a facetious set of new laws, including one stipulating that "no man wear a ... periwig, unless he have a testimonial from a town-clerk, that he is either bald, sickly, or asham'd of white hairs." Testimonials take different forms, but always, like in Drummond's faux law, they provide affirmation or evidence. (Testimonial traces to Latin testimonium, meaning "evidence" or "witness.") In the 19th century, testimonial developed a new use, referring to a tribute—that is, a gift presented as a public expression of appreciation. Today, testimonial is most often used to refer to a statement that endorses a product or service.
Synonyms
Examples of testimonial in a Sentence
Jeff Gage, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2024
Students, parents and teachers wrote cards and testimonials to Henderson.
—Joe Sexton, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Customer reviews and testimonials provide unbiased feedback about a product.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
Positive reviews and testimonials from previous clients provided valuable insights into the company’s ability to fulfill its promises.
—Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024
In these testimonials, a common theme started to emerge.
—Michael Carroll, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
The vice president has drawn on testimonials to underscore the impacts of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024
Rather than fixating on the sheer volume of positive reviews, the focus should shift toward the quality and authenticity of each testimonial.
—Andi Cross, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
One of the best testimonials any business can receive is from a repeat customer.
—Archway Homes, Kansas City Star, 24 Mar. 2024
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
But ahead of trial, Mehta concluded that Navarro had not carried his burden in proving that Trump had formally asserted a privilege or a testimonial immunity that would have allowed his former aide to not even appear to answer the committee’s questions.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024
Every now and then, upholding a testimonial privilege will frustrate a worthy criminal prosecution.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 13 Jan. 2024
Mehta also specified that any argument about testimonial immunity would only apply to the second count for which Navarro was charged — related to his refusal to testify — and the first count, related to the production of relevant records, would be subject only to executive privilege.
—Paulina Smolinski, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2023
Valeri told The Oregonian/OregonLive that a testimonial match between Portland and Lanús is now targeted for January 2024, during MLS preseason.
—oregonlive, 14 July 2023
The Guru Mahara Ji, appearing before the Detroit City Council Thursday afternoon, was greeted with a pie in the face from a disgruntled citizen and the first split vote on a testimonial resolution by the council in recent history.
—Jim Neubacher, Detroit Free Press, 9 Jan. 2022
Recruiting clients for testimonial campaign videos is another.
—John Hall, Forbes, 26 Mar. 2023
At home, the commission’s decision to hold testimonial hearings throughout the country – and broadcast them – made truth-telling and reconciliation accessible to ordinary people, says Baba Galleh Jallow, the former executive secretary of Gambia’s TRRC.
—Nick Roll, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Dec. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'testimonial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near testimonial
Cite this Entry
“Testimonial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/testimonial. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
testimonial
1 of 2 adjective
testimonial
2 of 2 noun
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