How to Use provenance in a Sentence

provenance

noun
Definition of provenancenext
Synonyms for provenancenext
  • Has anyone traced the provenances of these paintings?
  • The artifact is of unknown provenance.
  • Throughout the art world, the provenance of certain pieces is always top of mind.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2023
  • But the provenance of some of the more alarmist Biden-is-feeble memes, many of them built on raw footage of a few stumbles, is murky.
    — Clare Malone, The New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2024
  • In the wider scope of history, the ponytail’s precise provenance is a bit hazy.
    — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 27 June 2023
  • The agreement comes just months after the Met announced a push to hire more provenance researchers.
    — Christopher Parker, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Sep. 2023
  • Yet there are no plaques or requests in the museum on the provenance of art stolen from Benin, a country in West Africa.
    — Jessica Ferri, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2023
  • The provenance research is to be published on the foundation’s website.
    — Catherine Hickley, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2023
  • Hubris is still the provenance of the arrogant assumption.
    — Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Save the provenance to pass along to family, with any other items from his service!
    — Brenda Yenke, cleveland, 10 Aug. 2023
  • The name nods to the leading theory of its provenance: Sonora, the Mexican state just across the border.
    — J. J. Goode, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Its provenance and journey from the desert to Montana six decades ago and now to Jerusalem remain nebulous.
    — Ilan Ben Zion, ajc, 7 Sep. 2022
  • Sharing the crown is a car with a motorsport provenance that few others can compete with.
    — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 6 Mar. 2023
  • Indeed, the provenance of the fake documents remains a mystery.
    — Lauren Kaori Gurley, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023
  • The New York Times was unable to verify the provenance of the weapons and equipment in the images or assess the claim of the command center’s existence.
    — Iyad Abuheweila, New York Times, 15 Nov. 2023
  • For instance, the provenance of a skull listed as belonging to a Sioux chief named White Cloud was in doubt, said Friess, who has researched the case further.
    — Constant Méheut, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2022
  • Since the vats were never emptied completely, there’s some pretty old rum in the blend, of unknown provenance.
    — Tony Sachs, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2023
  • The name and provenance of Tyrian purple were inventions of the Romans.
    — Franz Lidz, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
  • The military had not been able to disprove the journalists’ photos, nor discern the disk’s provenance.
    — Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 6 Sep. 2023
  • The provenance of each item is described in (often hilarious) detail on the EBTH site.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 26 July 2023
  • While the artists featured — as well as the chef, Pavlos Kiriakis — are Greek, the food on offer has no particular provenance.
    — Jinnie Lee Kurt Soller Caitie Kelly Gisela Williams Roxanne Fequiere Elissa Suh, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024
  • The right provenance can make for an exciting surprise in the collectors’ market.
    — Jill Newman, Robb Report, 18 Nov. 2023
  • Like its peers, it’s sometimes embroiled in scandals over the provenance of its artifacts.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2022
  • The Verizon operator didn’t know the provenance of the hold music, and emails to the phone company went unanswered.
    — Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2022
  • As museum visitors lined up to view the vase, questions surfaced about its price and provenance.
    — Michael S. Rosenwald, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2022
  • This story has been corrected to reflect the provenance of the Martinot clock destroyed on Sunday.
    — Flora Charner, CNN, 10 Jan. 2023
  • The intention was to create a mechanism for tracing the provenance of digital works and give small artists a new way to make money.
    — Joel Khalili, WIRED, 22 Dec. 2022
  • Goens does not think the Baker provenance and historical marker will add value to her house, and precedence would seem to back her up.
    — The Indianapolis Star, 11 May 2023
  • The Real Deal Sometimes lost in the brouhaha over provenance is the question of authenticity.
    — Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 5 Aug. 2023
  • In the catalog, the renowned museum with one of the world’s great art collections does not discuss the provenance, or ownership history, of the work.
    — Menachem Wecker, Sun Sentinel, 17 Jan. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'provenance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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