3 VERB If you prove yourself to have a certain good quality, you show by your actions that you have it. □ [V pron-refl to-inf] Margaret proved herself to be a good mother. □ [V pron-refl adj] As a composer he proved himself adept at large dramatic forms. □ [V pron-refl] A man needs time to prove himself. □ [V -ed] Few would argue that this team has experience and proven ability. [V that]
4 PHRASE If you prove a point , you show other people that you know something or can do something, although your action may have no other purpose. □ They made a 3,000 mile detour simply to prove a point.
prov|en /pruː v ə n, proʊ v ə n/ Proven is a past participle of prove . Proven is the usual form of the past participle when you are using it as an adjective.
prov|enance /prɒ v I nəns/ (provenances ) N‑VAR [usu with poss] The provenance of something is the place that it comes from or that it originally came from. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] Kato was fully aware of the provenance of these treasures.
prov|erb /prɒ vɜː r b/ (proverbs ) N‑COUNT A proverb is a short sentence that people often quote, which gives advice or tells you something about life. □ An old Arab proverb says, 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'.
pro|ver|bial /prəvɜː r biəl/ ADJ [ADJ n] You use proverbial to show that you know the way you are describing something is one that is often used or is part of a popular saying. □ My audience certainly isn't the proverbial man in the street.
pro|vide ◆◆◆ /prəva I d/ (provides , providing , provided )
1 VERB If you provide something that someone needs or wants, or if you provide them with it, you give it to them or make it available to them. □ [V n] I'll be glad to provide a copy of this. □ [V n] They would not provide any details. □ [V n + with ] The government was not in a position to provide them with food. ● pro|vid|er (providers ) N‑COUNT □ [+ of ] They remain the main providers of sports facilities.
2 VERB If a law or agreement provides that something will happen, it states that it will happen. [FORMAL ] □ [V that] The treaty provides that, by the end of the century, the United States must have removed its bases.
3 → see also provided , providing
▸ provide for
1 PHRASAL VERB If you provide for someone, you support them financially and make sure that they have the things that they need. □ [V P n] Elaine wouldn't let him provide for her. □ [be adv V -ed for ] Her father always ensured she was well provided for.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you provide for something that might happen or that might need to be done, you make arrangements to deal with it. □ [V P n] James had provided for just such an emergency.
3 PHRASAL VERB If a law or agreement provides for something, it makes it possible. [FORMAL ] □ [V P n] The bill provides for the automatic review of all death sentences.
pro|vid|ed /prəva I d I d/ CONJ If you say that something will happen provided or provided that something else happens, you mean that the first thing will happen only if the second thing also happens. □ It should all work nicely, provided that nobody loses faith in the idea. □ Provided they are fit I see no reason why they shouldn't go on playing.
provi|dence /prɒ v I dəns/ N‑UNCOUNT Providence is God, or a force which is believed by some people to arrange the things that happen to us. [LITERARY ] □ These women regard his death as an act of providence.
provi|den|tial /prɒ v I de nʃ ə l/ ADJ A providential event is lucky because it happens at exactly the right time. [FORMAL ] □ He explained the yellow fever epidemic as a providential act to discourage urban growth. □ The pistols were loaded so our escape is indeed providential. ● provi|den|tial|ly ADV □ Just weeks before taking office, he had providentially taken out a life insurance policy.
pro|vid|ing /prəva I d I ŋ/ CONJ If you say that something will happen providing or providing that something else happens, you mean that the first thing will happen only if the second thing also happens. □ You can wear cut-off denim shorts, providing they are not too tight.
prov|ince ◆◇◇ /prɒ v I ns/ (provinces )
1 N‑COUNT A province is a large section of a country which has its own administration. □ …the Algarve, Portugal's southernmost province.
2 N‑PLURAL The provinces are all the parts of a country except the part where the capital is situated. □ The government plans to transfer some 30,000 government jobs from the capital to the provinces.
3 N‑SING [with poss] If you say that a subject or activity is a particular person's province , you mean that this person has a special interest in it, a special knowledge of it, or a special responsibility for it. □ Industrial research is the province of the Department of Trade and Industry.
pro|vin|cial /prəv I nʃ ə l/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Provincial means connected with the parts of a country away from the capital city. □ Jeremy Styles, 34, was the house manager for a provincial theatre for ten years.
2 ADJ If you describe someone or something as provincial , you disapprove of them because you think that they are old-fashioned and boring. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ He decided to revamp the company's provincial image.
pro|vin|cial|ism /prəv I nʃəl I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Provincialism is the holding of old-fashioned attitudes and opinions, which some people think is typical of people in areas away from the capital city of a country. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …the stifling bourgeois provincialism of Buxton.