- Trial period - The act of proving; also, that which proves anything;
proof. - Any proceeding designed to ascertain truth, to determine
character, qualification, etc.; examination; trial; as, to engage a
person on probation. - The novitiate which a person must pass in a convent, to
probe his or her virtue and ability to bear the severities of the rule. - The trial of a ministerial candidate's qualifications
prior to his ordination, or to his settlement as a pastor. - Moral trial; the state of man in the present life, in
which he has the opportunity of proving his character, and becoming
qualified for a happier state.