circumstantial evidence
noun
: evidence that tends to prove a fact by proving other events or circumstances which afford a basis for a reasonable inference of the occurrence of the fact at issue
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web While Citizen Lab is not blaming the mass hack on the Bukele government, Scott-Railton said all the circumstantial evidence points in that direction. 
NBC News, 13 Jan. 2022 At the time of DuBoise's trial, there wasn't any physical or circumstantial evidence connecting DuBoise to the attack, according to The Florida Innocence Project. Alisha Ebrahimji And Amy Simonson, CNN, 5 Aug. 2022 All the circumstantial evidence pointed fingers to Melanie McGuire, his wife. Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 17 June 2022 But circumstantial evidence links the Alters to the crime: A family photograph places the couple in Tucson on Thanksgiving Day in 1985, the day before the theft. Anne Ryman, The Arizona Republic, 16 June 2022 This phone call should be viewed in light of several pieces of circumstantial evidence, Mr. Doyle said. Yan Zhuang, New York Times, 28 July 2022 After decades of tagging studies, there’s enough circumstantial evidence to be confident that many top predators do dive deep in search of prey. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2022 There’s circumstantial evidence that Covid-19 originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China, and this week brings into focus a new contagion from that country. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 18 Mar. 2022 Without a fresh flow of that robust information, the debate over COVID-19's origins has remained shrouded in a haze of circumstantial evidence. Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 3 Feb. 2022 See More
NBC News, 13 Jan. 2022 At the time of DuBoise's trial, there wasn't any physical or circumstantial evidence connecting DuBoise to the attack, according to The Florida Innocence Project. Alisha Ebrahimji And Amy Simonson, CNN, 5 Aug. 2022 All the circumstantial evidence pointed fingers to Melanie McGuire, his wife. Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 17 June 2022 But circumstantial evidence links the Alters to the crime: A family photograph places the couple in Tucson on Thanksgiving Day in 1985, the day before the theft. Anne Ryman, The Arizona Republic, 16 June 2022 This phone call should be viewed in light of several pieces of circumstantial evidence, Mr. Doyle said. Yan Zhuang, New York Times, 28 July 2022 After decades of tagging studies, there’s enough circumstantial evidence to be confident that many top predators do dive deep in search of prey. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2022 There’s circumstantial evidence that Covid-19 originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China, and this week brings into focus a new contagion from that country. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 18 Mar. 2022 Without a fresh flow of that robust information, the debate over COVID-19's origins has remained shrouded in a haze of circumstantial evidence. Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 3 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1736, in the meaning defined above
Legal Definition
circumstantial evidence
see evidence