Meaning & use
attesting witness
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Meanings
nouncountablelegallaw
A person who signs a document to confirm that they watched someone else sign it.
Grammar: Countable; use 'an attesting witness' for one and 'attesting witnesses' for more than one.
Patterns
- act as an attesting witness
- an attesting witness to something
- sign as an attesting witness
A lawyer acted as an attesting witness when the client signed the will.
The court heard from the attesting witness that the testator was fully alert.
Each attesting witness must give their own address and occupation.
nouncountablelegalformal
Someone who formally declares that a statement or record is true and genuine.
Grammar: Often followed by 'to': an attesting witness to the signature.
Patterns
- an attesting witness to a signature
- serve as an attesting witness
She was named as an attesting witness to the deed of sale.
The notary asked two neighbors to be attesting witnesses to the document.
Word forms
| plural | attesting witnesses |
|---|
Common combinations
- act as an attesting witness
- His uncle agreed to act as an attesting witness at the ceremony.
- attesting witness to a will
- No attesting witness to a will may inherit under it in many places.
- sign as an attesting witness
- Please sign as an attesting witness on the line below the testator's name.
- credible attesting witness
- The judge wanted a credible attesting witness who had no interest in the estate.
- the attesting witness clause
- The attesting witness clause appears at the end of the document.
Synonyms and how they differ
- witness
- The everyday word for anyone who sees or confirms something; 'attesting witness' is the precise legal term for the person who signs to confirm a signature.
- subscribing witness
- Used mainly in American legal writing for a witness who signs a document; very close in meaning to 'attesting witness'.
- notary
- A notary is an official with authority to certify documents, while an attesting witness is usually an ordinary person who simply watches and signs.
Word family
- attest verb
- To state formally that something is true or genuine.
- attestation noun
- A formal statement or the act of declaring something true.
- attested adjective
- Confirmed or proved to be genuine, often in writing.
Commonly confused: attesting witness or witness?
attesting witness vs witness
'Witness' alone can mean anyone who saw an event, such as a crime; an 'attesting witness' is specifically someone who signs a document to confirm a signature.
Practice
The lawyer asked her colleague to ___ the contract as an attesting witness.
Choose one answer.
After 'to' we need the base verb, so 'sign' is correct. 'Signed' and 'signing' do not follow 'to' here, and 'signature' is a noun, not a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “attesting witness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.