Meaning & use
unsubstantiated claim
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
a statement that is presented as true but has no proof or supporting evidence
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'make' or 'dismiss': make an unsubstantiated claim.
Patterns
- make an unsubstantiated claim
- an unsubstantiated claim about something
- dismiss something as an unsubstantiated claim
The newspaper was criticized for publishing an unsubstantiated claim about the mayor.
He made several unsubstantiated claims about the product's health benefits.
The judge dismissed the accusation as an unsubstantiated claim.
Word forms
| plural | unsubstantiated claims |
|---|
Common combinations
- make an unsubstantiated claim
- It is irresponsible to make an unsubstantiated claim in a scientific paper.
- dismiss as an unsubstantiated claim
- The committee dismissed the rumor as an unsubstantiated claim.
- unsubstantiated allegation
- An unsubstantiated allegation is similar but often refers to a formal accusation.
- widely repeated unsubstantiated claim
- The widely repeated unsubstantiated claim was finally corrected.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unverified claim
- Similar, but 'unverified' suggests it has not yet been checked, while 'unsubstantiated' suggests there is no evidence to support it.
- baseless claim
- Stronger: 'baseless' means there is no foundation at all, whereas 'unsubstantiated' just means evidence is lacking.
Opposites
Word family
- substantiate verb
- to provide evidence that proves a claim
- substantiated adjective
- supported by evidence
- unsubstantiated adjective
- not supported by evidence
Commonly confused: unsubstantiated claim or unsubstantial?
unsubstantiated claim vs unsubstantial
Unsubstantial means 'not solid or not substantial' (e.g., an unsubstantial meal), not 'without evidence'.
Practice
The reporter refused to publish the story because it was based on an ______.
Choose one answer.
A claim can be unsubstantiated (lacking evidence); facts, proof, and evidence are not described as unsubstantiated in this way because they are themselves the support for claims.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unsubstantiated claim”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.