confection

American  

[kuhn-fek-shuhn] / kənˈfɛk ʃən /

noun

• confections
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

1. Archaic. to prepare as a confection.

confection British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• confections
  plural

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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confection confections

“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

We can’t resist a pretty confection, no matter how bad for us it might be.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 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

Anna Wintour, the Global Editorial Director of Vogue magazine, wore a feathery custom Chanel confection to her signature event.

From BBC ● May 4, 2026

Halfway up the field stood an extravagant confection of striped silk like a miniature palace, with several live peacocks tethered at the entrance.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

Her “It” girls often keep company with a coterie of tiny monkeys, kittens or creatures with confections for heads.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 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

These sugar-laden confections are mostly made of high fructose corn syrup, saturated fat and additives.

From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2024

The company initially began as a small family licorice business and has since branched out into several varieties of confections.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2024

They discovered that they could conjure splendid-looking confections, but were somewhat less successful when it came to flavor.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Related Words

• cake
• candy
• pastry