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
Derived Forms
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confirmabilitynoun
-
confirmernoun
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unconfirmabilitynoun
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preconfirmverb (used with object)
-
reconfirmverb (used with object)
-
unconfirmverb (used with object)
-
confirmableadjective
-
confirmatoryadjective
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nonconfirmingadjective
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confirminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
confirmsimple
-
confirmssimple
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have confirmedperfect
-
has confirmedperfect
-
am confirmingprogressive
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are confirmingprogressive
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is confirmingprogressive
-
have been confirmingperfect progressive
-
has been confirmingperfect progressive
Past
-
confirmedsimple
-
had confirmedperfect
-
was confirmingprogressive
-
were confirmingprogressive
-
had been confirmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of confirm
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin confirmāre “to strengthen, confirm” ( see con-, firm 1); replacing Middle English confermen, from Old French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
When you need to make sure before you leave that you have a reservation, you often call ahead to confirm, that is, to make sure that your tickets or space are set aside for you. The firm in confirm should give you a clue as to the word's meaning: to shore up or verify something. When you make sure something is set, or firm, you confirm it. The word comes from the Latin con- "together, altogether," and firmāre "make firm," so confirm originally meant roughly "to make (something) altogether firm."
Vocabulary lists containing confirm
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 3
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
A post-mortem examination is under way and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death could help confirm if foul play was involved.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
He stayed about 30 minutes and witnessed the tattoo artist at work but couldn’t confirm whether anyone got a tattoo of LemonLime’s citrus-slice logo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The league hasn’t announced its plans for shifting games outside of Illinois other than to confirm they aspire to do so.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Preventing unwanted electric fields was especially important because the researchers needed to confirm that the electron flow came entirely from the light.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Something to confirm I’m nowhere near as good as I’d like to be.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Combs is expected to be released from prison on Jan. 24, 2028, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate database confirms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
If future prospective research confirms the findings, diabetes prevention may need to become more personalized.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
"It's not possible to bond every paper material," Baumann confirms.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
In his view, that confirms that the long-term growth trajectory for chip makers is intact.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
There’s something in his voice that makes me believe him, and the pallor on Fulvia’s face confirms it.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
The manager, Robert Attermann, confirmed his death to AFP, but did not offer details about the circumstances.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Pastore was found dead in his Bronx residence Saturday by a friend who did a wellness check after he had not been heard from for three days, his manager Steve Atterman confirmed to The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Former West Ham co-owner David Gold's daughter Vanessa has confirmed the family plan to sell their shares in the club to a consortium headed by ex-Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Authorities stressed they have not confirmed that claim and continue to investigate the case as an active kidnapping.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Galileo’s discovery of the moons of Jupiter had been confirmed within a few months.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The Home Office announced plans for the site last October before confirming the move in January, sparking protests in the town.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
However, confirming whether those planets have atmospheres has been one of the most difficult challenges in exoplanet research.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
County officials said they weren’t able to identify the raptor and that even confirming the sex of a bald eagle is no easy feat, given they have no external genitalia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
South Kivu has now gone 49 consecutive days without confirming a new Ebola case, exceeding the disease’s maximum 42-day incubation period, the U.N. said this week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
I am only too aware that I never received a reply from Miss Kenton confirming she would be happy about a meeting.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
