eyewitness
Firsthand account source
An eyewitness is someone who personally saw an event happen, especially a crime or accident: Police are looking for eyewitnesses to the shooting.
Eyewitness testimony carries weight in court because the person observed directly rather than hearing about it secondhand.
As a verb, to eyewitness something is to see it happen: She eyewitnessed the whole thing.
Observer at an event
- onlookerPerson who observes
- bystanderOne who observes nearby
- watcherOne who observes
- beholderOne who witnesses
viewer · gawker · rubbernecker · looker-on · passerby · attendee · present · scene
Give sworn evidence
- swornBound by formal promise
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- affidavitSworn written statement
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
cross-examination · subpoena · perjury · admissible · hearsay · corroborate · impeach · credibility
One who commits wrongdoing
- suspectBelieve to be likely
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- detectiveProfessional crime investigator
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
alibi · lineup · identification · scene · incident · guilty · innocent · prosecution
Account of events
- descriptionAccount of characteristics
- reportFormal written findings
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- detailSingle small element
version · chronicle · retelling · recounting · firsthand · memory · depiction · portrayal
Worthy of acceptance
- trustworthyWorthy of confidence
- accurateConforming to fact
- verifiableAble to be proven
- authenticVerified as original
factual · objective · unbiased · truthful · believable · corroborated · substantiated · confirmed
spectator
Observer at an event
beholder · viewer · gawker · rubbernecker · looker-on · passerby · attendee · present · scene · proximity
testify
Give sworn evidence
- swornBound by formal promise
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- affidavitSworn written statement
courtroom · cross-examination · subpoena · perjury · admissible · hearsay · corroborate · impeach · credibility · statement
perpetrator
One who commits wrongdoing
- suspectBelieve to be likely
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- detectiveProfessional crime investigator
forensics · alibi · lineup · identification · scene · incident · guilty · innocent · prosecution · defense
narrative
Account of events
- descriptionAccount of characteristics
- reportFormal written findings
- recollectionRecalled mental image
detail · version · chronicle · retelling · recounting · firsthand · memory · depiction · portrayal · anecdote
credible
Worthy of acceptance
- trustworthyWorthy of confidence
- accurateConforming to fact
- verifiableAble to be proven
authentic · factual · objective · unbiased · truthful · believable · corroborated · substantiated · confirmed · dependable
- courtroom testimonysworn testimony, trial testimony, sworn statements, firsthand account, firsthand accounts
- Crash InvestigationsNTSB, crash investigation, crash site, crash scene, black box
- witnessestestifier, deponent, affiant, attestor, corroborator
- evidentialshearsay, inferential, firsthand, secondhand, direct evidence
- nonfictionbiography, autobiography, biographies, history, memoir
- crime investigationdetective, whodunit, investigation, detectives, investigator
eyewitnessrumor
Unconfirmed circulating story
gossip · hearsay · secondhand account · speculation · conjecture
eyewitnessparticipant
One who takes part
perpetrator · actor · party · accomplice · culprit
eyewitnessspeculation
Unproven theorizing or risky investment
conjecture · supposition · guesswork · inference · hearsay evidence
- eyewitness accountTestimony from direct observer
- eyewitness reportStatement from someone present
- eyewitness testimonyEvidence from direct observers
- eyewitness testimoniesStatements from direct observers