Legal Definitions - authenticate

Authenticate

To authenticate means to prove or verify that something is real or genuine. It can also mean to officially confirm the authenticity of something or to give authority through legal formalities.

For example, when you log into your email account, you may be asked to authenticate your identity by entering a password or answering security questions. This is to ensure that you are the real owner of the account and not someone trying to access it without permission.

Another example is when a museum displays a valuable artifact, they will often have experts authenticate it to confirm that it is not a fake or a replica.

The examples illustrate how authentication is used to verify the authenticity of something, whether it's a person's identity or the genuineness of an object.