confidence
full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing: We have every confidence in their ability to succeed.
belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance: His lack of confidence defeated him.
certitude; assurance: He described the situation with such confidence that the audience believed him completely.
a secret that is confided or imparted trustfully: The friends exchanged many confidences over the years.
See entry at vote of confidence.
presumption; impudence: Her disdainful look crushed the confidence of the brash young man.
Archaic. something that gives confidence; ground of trust.
Idioms about confidence
in confidence, as a secret or private matter, not to be divulged or communicated to others; with belief in a person's sense of discretion: I told him in confidence.
Origin of confidence
1synonym study For confidence
Other words for confidence
Opposites for confidence
Other words from confidence
- hy·per·con·fi·dence, noun
- non·con·fi·dence, noun
- su·per·con·fi·dence, noun
Words Nearby confidence
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use confidence in a sentence
But locals there say any money deposited is thrown into an unlocked cupboard behind the tellers, hardly inspiring confidence.
For his part, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has expressed his “full confidence” in Representative Scalise.
What designer West lacks in productivity, he more than makes up for in pure, unadulterated confidence and blind anger.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s Balmain Campaign: High Fashion Meets Low Culture | Amy Zimmerman | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe FARC has a long way to go to win the confidence of the Colombian people.
Did The U.S.-Cuba Deal Help Drive A Rebel Ceasefire in Colombia? | Richard McColl | December 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMailer would argue, for example, that timidity does more harm to the novelist than donning a mask of extreme self-confidence.
Mailer’s Letters Pack a Punch and a Surprising Degree of Sweetness | Ronald K. Fried | December 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
With childlike confidence he follows the advice of some more or less honest dealer.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsWe have been in the profession some years, Mr. Pickwick, and have been honoured with the confidence of many excellent clients.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2) | Charles DickensShe embraced Otteline; and gave him her hand to kiss, with repeated expressions of future confidence in the husband of her friend.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterHer work is full of life and strength, and her touch shows her confidence in herself and her technical knowledge.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. | Clara Erskine ClementNot more than one adult worker in ten—so at least it might with confidence be estimated—is employed on necessary things.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
British Dictionary definitions for confidence
/ (ˈkɒnfɪdəns) /
a feeling of trust in a person or thing: I have confidence in his abilities
belief in one's own abilities; self-assurance
trust or a trustful relationship: take me into your confidence
something confided or entrusted; secret
in confidence as a secret
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with confidence
In addition to the idiom beginning with confidence
- confidence game
also see:
- in confidence
- take into one's confidence
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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