How to Use provenance in a Sentence

provenance

noun
  • Has anyone traced the provenances of these paintings?
  • The artifact is of unknown provenance.
  • Lubeck couldn’t share the stone’s provenance.
    — Emilia Petrarca, New Yorker, 2 Jan. 2026
  • How much do customers care about the provenance of their shoes?
    — Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 24 Sep. 2018
  • Their own worth, their own purpose, their own provenance.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Its provenance is a bit of a mystery, and the sparkler has been rarely seen since.
    — Janine Henni, People.com, 20 Nov. 2024
  • There is the rare piece that Lawson doesn’t know the provenance of.
    — Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Of course, there are other factors at play, such as provenance.
    — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 28 Nov. 2025
  • Everyone knows that quiche’s provenance, but no one’s rude enough to call out the host.
    — Dorrie Greenspan, The Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2017
  • So what was the provenance of Royal Navy rum?
    — Tony Sachs, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
  • But the provenance of the rest of them remains a matter of opinion.
    — National Geographic, 21 Apr. 2017
  • Are there any marks or labels on the piece to help determine its provenance?
    — Shivani Vyas, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2025
  • The provenance of the bearing pads is deeper in the supply chain.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 16 May 2021
  • Of course, single malt is not the provenance of Scotland alone.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2022
  • And by no means were all the sculptures mail-order pieces with no real provenance.
    — Caroline Spivack, Curbed, 27 May 2021
  • The house has a collection of stylish things with no great concern about provenance.
    — Mimi Read, House Beautiful, 13 Jan. 2014
  • Spencer contacted experts around the world in a bid to find out more about its provenance.
    — Lianne Kolirin, CNN, 15 Dec. 2021
  • Throughout the art world, the provenance of certain pieces is always top of mind.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2023
  • And a swap can be a better place than the typical plant shop to find a plant with a provenance.
    — Michelle Slatalla, WSJ, 7 June 2018
  • Of course, many mysteries still remain about the provenance of our species.
    — Maya Wei-Haas, National Geographic, 21 Oct. 2020
  • Each comes with a story, a provenance, and a unique fingerprint.
    — Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
  • Compared to the original copy, the new copy’s provenance wasn’t as strong.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Apr. 2025
  • The point gets lost when every menu has a list of the provenance of their ingredients.
    — Laura Reiley, Washington Post, 9 July 2019
  • Blockchain has long been touted as a way of ensuring the provenance of goods in a supply chain.
    — Brady Dale, Axios, 4 Feb. 2025
  • But price and provenance are tricky things in the Tinga Tinga world.
    — Jody Jaffe, latimes.com, 19 June 2017
  • The provenance of this argument was of course the fallout over Omar.
    — Nr Staff, National Review, 19 July 2019
  • Most luthiers are wise to this and many strive to be mindful of the provenance of their raw materials.
    — Ellen Ruppel Shell, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2022
  • In the wider scope of history, the ponytail’s precise provenance is a bit hazy.
    — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 27 June 2023
  • This seems very similar to the provenance of the concert stage today.
    — Lynn Whidden, Scientific American, 26 July 2024
  • With the help of social media, Frith and his friends were able to track down the provenance of this rare find.
    — Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2025

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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