confection

[kuhn-fek-shuhn]

noun

1. a sweet preparation of fruit or the like, as a preserve or candy.

2. the process of compounding, preparing, or making something.

3. a frivolous, amusing, or contrived play, book, or other artistic or literary work.

4. something made up or confected; a concoction.

   He said the charges were a confection of the local police.

5. something, as a garment or decorative object, that is very delicate, elaborate, or luxurious and usually nonutilitarian.

6. Pharmacology.,  a medicated preparation made with the aid of sugar, honey, syrup, or the like.

verb (used with object)

1. Archaic.,  to prepare as a confection.

confection

/ kənˈfɛkʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of compounding or mixing

2. any sweet preparation of fruit, nuts, etc, such as a preserve or a sweet

3. old-fashioned,  an elaborate article of clothing, esp for women

4. informal,  anything regarded as overelaborate or frivolous

   the play was merely an ingenious confection

5. a medicinal drug sweetened with sugar, honey, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of confection¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English confeccioun, from Latin confectiōn- (stem of confectiō ) “preparation, conclusion, completion”; confect, -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of confection¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin confectiō a preparing, from conficere to produce; see _confect

Example Sentences

“Sèvres Extraordinaire!” approaches its subject—pioneering, astonishing ceramic confections that are neither purely functional nor purely decorative but sui generis art, or “sculpture”—in the broadest sense.

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The band’s haunting tribute to the Carpenters, “Downey CA,” appeared on 2000’s “Sound of Water” — an icy, melancholy confection, possibly the most fully realized album of its career.

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In recent years, the confection has been regarded as the symbol of affection with stores and major retailers selling them by the box.

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A dozen buildings — if wood and canvas confections are properly “buildings” — constituted the town, which attracted gold seekers from around the world.

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I carry these treasures home each year in a frozen plastic tub tucked in my carry-on, feeling their weight as more than confection.

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Related Words

• cake 
• candy 
• pastry