# valid

Pronunciation: US say "VAL-id" /ˈvælɪd/; UK

## Adjective

1. Meeting the requirements of the relevant rules, and so accepted as proper or correct.
   - Simple: Allowed by the rules, correct, and able to be used.
   - _Only votes cast before the deadline are counted as valid._
   - _A valid passport is required to board the flight._
2. Well grounded or justifiable; supported by sound reasoning and pertinent to the matter.
   - Simple: Based on good reasons, sensible, and worth taking seriously.
   - _His objection was valid, given the missing safety data._
   - _Reviewers found her criticism entirely valid and recommended changes._
3. Related to the current topic or presented within context; relevant to the matter at hand.
   - Simple: Connected to what is being talked about right now.
   - _It's a fair criticism, but it isn't valid in this discussion; we're deciding the budget, not the schedule._
   - _Once the speaker tied her childhood story back to the theme of the panel, the detour seemed valid after all._
4. Of an argument: such that its conclusion must be true whenever its premises are true.
   - Simple: Describes an argument where, if the reasons are true, the result must be true too.
   - _A valid argument can still reach a false conclusion if one premise is false._
   - _The logicians confirmed that the proof's structure was valid._
5. In logic, of a formula or system, true under every possible assignment of values to its variables.
   - Simple: Describes a formula that comes out true no matter what values you put in.
   - _A valid formula holds under every assignment of truth values._
   - _The system proved valid across all the configurations they tested._
6. Of a sacrament: genuine and truly effective, as distinct from one that is merely regular or licit.
   - Simple: Describes a sacrament that is truly performed, so that it really takes effect.
   - _The Church recognized the marriage as valid despite the irregular setting._
   - _A baptism performed by a layperson can be valid in urgent cases._

## Origin

Borrowed from Middle French valide ("healthy, sound, in good order"), from Latin validus, from valeō ("to be strong, to be healthy, to be worth"), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "be strong."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/valid (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).