confirmatorio

Confirmatorio is an adjective used in several Romance languages, notably Spanish and Portuguese, to describe something that serves to confirm or validate a result, hypothesis, or model. It derives from the Latin confirmare, meaning to strengthen or establish.

In statistical and scientific contexts, the term is common in phrases such as prueba/estudio confirmatorio and análisis confirmatorio. It denotes approaches designed to test predefined hypotheses or models, rather than to explore data. A prominent example is el análisis factorial confirmatorio (confirmatory factor analysis), which assesses whether observed variables fit a hypothesized structure of latent factors.

In clinical research and pharmacology, the term appears in the distinction between confirmatory and exploratory studies. Ensayos clínicos confirmatorios are planned with prespecified endpoints, hypotheses, and statistical criteria, and their results carry regulatory weight for purposes such as efficacy labeling. This contrasts with exploratory studies, which are more open-ended and aimed at generating hypotheses.

Beyond statistics and medicine, confirmatorio can describe evidence, procedures, or instruments intended to corroborate findings, conclusions, or decisions. The word is often used in academic writing to signal that the information presented is meant to provide verification rather than merely illustrate an idea.

Related terms include confirmación (the noun form) and, in English-language contexts, confirmatory. The usage of confirmatorio is typical in Spanish and Portuguese-language technical and scientific literature, where precision in validation is emphasized.