confer
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to bestow upon as a gift, favor, honor, etc..
to confer a degree on a graduate.
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Obsolete. to compare.
verb
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(tr; foll by on or upon) to grant or bestow (an honour, gift, etc)
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(intr) to hold or take part in a conference or consult together
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(tr) an obsolete word for compare
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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confersimple
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conferssimple
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have conferredperfect
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has conferredperfect
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am conferringprogressive
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are conferringprogressive
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is conferringprogressive
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have been conferringperfect progressive
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has been conferringperfect progressive
Past
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conferredsimple
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had conferredperfect
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was conferringprogressive
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were conferringprogressive
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had been conferringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of confer
First recorded in 1400–50 for earlier sense “to summon”; 1520–30 for current senses; late Middle English conferen, from Latin conferre “to bring together, compare, consult with,” equivalent to con- “with, together, completely” ( see con-) + ferre “to carry, bear” ( see bear 1)
Explanation
If you gab, chat, and talk it up with someone, you have conversation, but if you're looking for input from each other as you talk, you confer, or consult, together. They had a family meeting to confer about a schedule for sharing the new laptop. Many uses of the verb confer involve consulting with another person or as a group. Confer has a second use meaning "bestow," which means to award or hand over something. You can confer a medal on a winner or hero, or you can confer status through a promotion or assignment. Each year the teacher would confer the special honor of summer hamster-sitter on one responsible student.
Vocabulary lists containing confer
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Refugee
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The other signatories were Luis Argüello, president of the Episcopal Conference and leader of the Spanish Catholic Church, and Jesús Díaz Sariego, president of Confer, which represents Catholic congregations and religious orders.
From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026
To Cohen, the language was dismissive, as if the doctor didn't take Confer at his word.
From Salon • Oct. 2, 2022
The woman said she couldn't leave through the back door and had to leave through the front, according to WHBQ, but Confer allegedly wouldn't let her.
From Fox News • Oct. 10, 2019
Some of the bird’s fluffiness may also come from the owl plumping up its feathers to look bigger to a potential predator, says John Confer, scholar in residence at Ithaca College.
From National Geographic • Jul. 27, 2015
No more of Pamphilus or my offense; Since you will have it so!—Go, find him out; 555 Confer with him alone, and fairly ask him, Will he, or no, take back Philumena?
From The Comedies of Terence by Colman, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
