confirm
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of; corroborate; verify.
This report confirms my suspicions.
- Synonyms:
- validate, authenticate, substantiate, prove
- Antonyms:
- disprove
-
to acknowledge with definite assurance.
Did the hotel confirm our room reservation?
-
to make valid or binding by some formal or legal act; sanction; ratify.
to confirm a treaty;
to confirm her appointment to the Supreme Court.
- Antonyms:
- invalidate
-
to make firm or more firm; add strength to; settle or establish firmly.
Their support confirmed my determination to run for mayor.
- Synonyms:
- fix
- Antonyms:
- shake
-
to strengthen (a person) in habit, resolution, opinion, etc..
The accident confirmed him in his fear of driving.
-
to administer the religious rite of confirmation to.
verb
-
(may take a clause as object) to prove to be true or valid; corroborate; verify
-
(may take a clause as object) to assert for a second or further time, so as to make more definite
he confirmed that he would appear in court
-
to strengthen or make more firm
his story confirmed my doubts
-
to make valid by a formal act or agreement; ratify
-
to administer the rite of confirmation to
Other Word Forms
- confirmability noun
- confirmable adjective
- confirmatory adjective
- confirmer noun
- confirmingly adverb
- nonconfirming adjective
- preconfirm verb (used with object)
- reconfirm verb (used with object)
- unconfirm verb (used with object)
- unconfirmability noun
Etymology
Origin of confirm
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin confirmāre “to strengthen, confirm” ( con-, firm 1 ); replacing Middle English confermen, from Old French, from Latin, as above
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.
Three large dogs found roaming the streets of a Lancashire town the day before Halloween have been confirmed to be wolf-dogs after a rescue centre tested their DNA.
From BBC
The research took place on a quarantined floor of a Baltimore-area hotel and included five participants with confirmed influenza symptoms and 11 healthy volunteers.
From Science Daily
Bushfires have razed hundreds of buildings across southeast Australia, authorities said Sunday, as they confirmed the first death from the disaster.
From Barron's
BBC Persian has confirmed the identities of 26 people killed, including six children.
From BBC
In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department declined to name Porter or provide any further details, except to confirm that a gun was recovered at the scene.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
