When something confirmed something you already believed in

[alpacinou]

Hello.

What is a verb or a phrase which means to "doubly confirm" something you already knew or believed in? Can I use "doubly confirm"?

Are these correct?

1. My work as a shop owner reaffirmed my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

2. My work as a shop owner corroborated my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

3. My work as a shop owner doubly confirmed my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

 

[emsr2d2]

No. Use "reaffirmed" or "confirmed".

 

[alpacinou]

No. Use "reaffirmed" or "confirmed".

Isn't there an idiom or a phrase?

 

[emsr2d2]

You could use something like "backed up". You seem to have this strange idea that we have an idiom for everything. We don't.

 

[alpacinou]

You could use something like "backed up". You seem to have this strange idea that we have an idiom for everything. We don't.

Is this correct?

My work as a shop owner backed up my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

 

[GoesStation]

Is this correct?

My work as a shop owner backed up my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

"Reinforced" would work better but your sentence isn't wrong.

 

[tedmc]

How about "lent credence to" or "supported"?

 

[probus]

How about "lent credence to" or "supported"?

I think not, Ted. Those two are a bit milder. They indicate that the thing is somewhat more likely to be true, but they don't have the same degree of certainty as confirmed or reaffirmed in my opinion.

 

[tedmc]

I think not, Ted. Those two are a bit milder. They indicate that the thing is somewhat more likely to be true, but they don't have the same degree of certainty as confirmed or reaffirmed in my opinion.

1. My work as a shop owner reaffirmed my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

I don't think someone who has worked in the retail business is in a position to say for sure (reaffirm) that a prediction will come true. If anything, the person's background merely lends credibility to/supports the statement.

 

[Phaedrus]

What is a verb or a phrase which means to "doubly confirm" something you already knew or believed in?

"Fortify" and "refortify" also work:

4. My work as a shop owner (re)fortified my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

 

[GoesStation]

"Fortify" and "refortify" also work:

4. My work as a shop owner (re)fortified my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

I wouldn't use either of them.

 

[alpacinou]

Can I use "vindicate"?

My work as a shop owner vindicated my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yes.

- affirm
- confirm
- strengthen
- underscore

 

[Phaedrus]

"Fortify" and "refortify" also work:

I wouldn't use either of them.

Here is one of the OED's definitions of "fortify":

"b. To confirm, corroborate, add support to (a statement, etc.). . . to confirm one's statement, etc."

Also, for what it's worth, the word string "fortified my belief that" alone has over three thousand Google hits.

 

[GoesStation]

Here is one of the OED's definitions of "fortify":

"b. To confirm, corroborate, add support to (a statement, etc.). . . to confirm one's statement, etc."

Also, for what it's worth, the word string "fortified my belief that" alone has over three thousand Google hits.

The OED notwithstanding, I wouldn't use fortify in this context if I wanted to be understood.

 

[probus]

As I've observed in the past, dictionaries vary both in their quality and in their goals. The OED is truly encyclopedic. In the days when books were only paper it was enormous and I've only seen one copy in private hands. It weighed well over 50 kilos and its owner was a friend who had his own book publishing firm. Anyway, the unabridged OED aims to record every usage of every English word that has ever occurred. Therefore, while it must surely be regarded as authoritative it is not necessarily the best guide to actual current usage, particularly for AmE.

 

[alpacinou]

Is there a website which has examples of specific words used in literary works?

I want to see exactly how a specific word is used by native-speaking authors of books.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

"Fortify" and "refortify" also work:

4. My work as a shop owner (re)fortified my belief that online stores will replace physical stores soon.

Absolutely. I didn't mean to imply they didn't. They do.