Showing Results for "confidante"

See Also:

• a variation of confidente.

confidante

American  

[kon-fi-dant, -dahnt, kon-fi-dant, -dahnt] / ˌkɒn fɪˈdænt, -ˈdɑnt, ˈkɒn fɪˌdænt, -ˌdɑnt /

noun

1. a woman to whom secrets are confided or with whom private matters and problems are discussed.

2. Furniture. confidente.

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confidante British  

/ ˌkɒnfɪˈdænt, ˈkɒnfɪˌdænt /

noun

1. a person, esp a woman, to whom private matters are confided

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Usage

What’s the difference between confidante, confidant, and confident? The word confidante is a gender-specific form of confidant, a noun meaning someone you feel comfortable telling secret or private things to—a person you confide in. Confidante is specifically applied to women. Confident is an adjective that means sure of oneself or one’s abilities, or having a high level of certainty about something. Very rarely, the word confident can be used as a noun meaning the same thing as confidant, but we’re pretty confident almost no one uses it this way. We’re also sorry to report that there’s a kind of sofa called a confidente that can also be called a confidante, but honestly you’ll be better off if you just forget we ever said anything about it. Confidant and confidante are borrowed from French, which has grammatical gender, so some words end differently depending on whether they are applied to men or women (with e being the feminine ending). This happens in a few other pairs of words in English, like blond and blonde, though in many cases the term without the e has become largely gender-neutral. This is the case with confidant, which is the more commonly used of the two. What’s the best way to be confident that you’re using the right word? Just remember that the ending of both confidant and confidante sounds like the more formal pronunciation of aunt—your aunt could be your confidant (as could your commandant, the ending of which also sounds the same). The ending of confident, on the other hand, sounds like dent. Here’s an example of confidante and confident used correctly in the same sentence. (The word confidante could be replaced with confidant if you wanted to make the term gender-neutral.)Example: I am confident that what I confide to my confidante stays confidential. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between confidante, confidant, and confident.

Etymology

Origin of confidante

First recorded in 1700–10, confidante is from the French word confidente

Explanation

If you're a confidante, two things must be true: you have to be female, and you must be someone who people feel comfortable telling secrets to. If you have a confidante, you're lucky. She is a friend you can confide in, someone you trust with your private thoughts, and who you're sure can keep a secret. If your trusted friend is male, you call him your confidant. In fact, you could call a male or a female "secret keeper" your confidant (without the "e"). Both versions of the word come from the same root as confident — which you can trace back to the Latin word meaning "to trust or confide," confidentem.

Example Sentences

The Confidante Miami Beach hotel advertises in-room virtual fitness classes, including yoga and kickboxing.

From New York Times • Jul. 20, 2020

Glenn Kessler , a former diplomatic correspondent who writes the Fact Checker column for The Washington Post, is the author of “The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy.”

From Washington Post

This elaborate counterpoint confused even Confidante Maxwell, tireless companion of the rich, who had just thrown her annual party at Venice's Danieli.

From Time Magazine Archive

She would call this game "Confidante," as she had never heard a name for it.

From Holidays at the Grange or A Week's Delight Games and Stories for Parlor and Fireside by Higgins, Emily Mayer

Confidante and accomplice, Sangarre, without country, without family, had been delighted to put her vagabond life to the service of the invaders thrown by Ogareff on Siberia.

From Michael Strogoff Or, The Courier of the Czar by Verne, Jules

Related Words

• acquaintance
• adviser
• companion
• confidant
• crony