confection
Americannoun
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confections
plural
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a sweet preparation of fruit or the like, as a preserve or candy.
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the process of compounding, preparing, or making something.
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a frivolous, amusing, or contrived play, book, or other artistic or literary work.
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something made up or confected; a concoction.
He said the charges were a confection of the local police.
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something, as a garment or decorative object, that is very delicate, elaborate, or luxurious and usually nonutilitarian.
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Pharmacology. a medicated preparation made with the aid of sugar, honey, syrup, or the like.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the act or process of compounding or mixing
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any sweet preparation of fruit, nuts, etc, such as a preserve or a sweet
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old-fashioned an elaborate article of clothing, esp for women
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informal anything regarded as overelaborate or frivolous
the play was merely an ingenious confection
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a medicinal drug sweetened with sugar, honey, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of confection
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English confeccioun, from Latin confectiōn- (stem of confectiō ) “preparation, conclusion, completion”; see origin at confect, -ion
Explanation
A confection is a food loaded with sugar. Chocolate layer cake, strawberry lollipops, and vanilla bonbons are all confections. Yum! Do you have a sweet tooth? Then you love confections, which are sweet treats such as cakes and candies and all manner of food that’s full of sugary deliciousness. The candy aisle is loaded with confections. Bakeries sell confections too, like cupcakes. A confection is almost always a delicious dessert. Just make sure you eat your vegetables before you eat any confections!
Vocabulary lists containing confection
Pie Chart: Dessert Words
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This Week in Words: January 13 - 19, 2018
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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:
“Whatever it is, it’s very healthy,” he says when I ask what sort of confection he chose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
But there’s one confection I’ve pined for, one tied to the memory of my mother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
It became a viral sensation, spurring countless inspired products from Crumbl Cookies to Shake Shack desserts as well as major chocolate brands like Lindt and Godiva taking their own stab at the pistachio-filled confection.
From Salon ● May 6, 2026
Anna Wintour, the Global Editorial Director of Vogue magazine, wore a feathery custom Chanel confection to her signature event.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
Our sons, tired out, were humped together asleep, the youngest clutching a sugary confection in one sticky fist.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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These airy confections are among the viral Swedish candies you may have seen on social media, perhaps mixed with others in a “candy salad.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
With T. Bone Burnett holding forth in the producer’s chair yet again, “Long Long Road” matches its predecessor’s penchant for warmhearted storytelling and well-played musical confections.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
“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.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2025
Chicken skewers, flat breads, red-velvet confections, unlimited specialty drinks are included.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2024
I teased, nodding toward a group of girls lined up against the wall like pastel confections.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.