Sentence:  There is <WSD>evidence</WSD> to suggest , in fact , that many authors of the humorous sketches were prompted to write them - or to make them as indelicate as they are - by way of protesting against the artificial refinements which had come to dominate the polite letters of the South . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief