Meaning & use
bona fides
Evidence or credentials that prove someone's genuineness, honesty, or good faith.
See it in a sentence
The journalist checked the source's bona fides before publishing the story.
Her years of fieldwork gave her strong bona fides as a wildlife researcher.
A note on using this word
Borrowed from Latin meaning 'good faith,' 'bona fides' is treated as a singular noun in English despite its plural appearance.
Words with a similar meaning
credentialsauthenticity
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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