adjectives - What is the difference between "proven" and "proved"?


"Proven" and "proved" both seem to mean the same thing. Are there any differences in meaning or usage between them?



Answer



The New Oxford American Dictionary has the following note.



For complex historical reasons, prove developed two past participles: proved and proven. Both are correct and can be used more or less interchangeably: this hasn't been proved yet; this hasn't been proven yet. Proven is the more common form when used as an adjective before the noun it modifies: a proven talent (not a proved talent). Otherwise, the choice between proved and proven is not a matter of correctness, but usually of sound and rhythm—and often, consequently, a matter of familiarity, as in the legal idiom innocent until proven guilty.



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