confer
to consult together; compare opinions; carry on a discussion or deliberation.
to bestow upon as a gift, favor, honor, etc.: to confer a degree on a graduate.
Obsolete. to compare.
Origin of confer
1synonym study For confer
Other words from confer
- con·fer·ment, noun
- con·fer·ra·ble, adjective
- con·fer·rer, noun
- non·con·fer·ra·ble, adjective
- pre·con·fer, verb (used without object), pre·con·ferred, pre·con·fer·ring.
- re·con·fer, verb, re·con·ferred, re·con·fer·ring.
Words Nearby confer
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use confer in a sentence
The teams conferred with one another as they drafted their respective documents.
Why kids need special protection from AI’s influence | Karen Hao | September 17, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewAn omnipresent subjecthood confers onto the natural world the characteristics of a psyche.
What the Meadow Teaches Us - Issue 90: Something Green | Andreas Weber | September 16, 2020 | NautilusMore quietly, however, other scientists are investigating whether a vaccine that has already been in use for decades could also confer some level of protection.
‘Trained Immunity’ Offers Hope in Fight Against Coronavirus | Esther Landhuis | September 14, 2020 | Quanta MagazineGene losses in evolution may sound like damaging events, since genes confer the traits that make life and health possible.
By Losing Genes, Life Often Evolved More Complexity | Viviane Callier | September 1, 2020 | Quanta Magazine“We can’t rely on chemistry to spray our way out of this,” Goodman, a chemist himself, said as the commissioners conferred after the public’s comments.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have been OK’d for a first U.S. test flight | Susan Milius | August 22, 2020 | Science News
But that was so yesterday, much like his contention that he lacked the power to unilaterally confer amnesty.
With Immigration Move, Obama and the Welfare Party Strike Again | Lloyd Green | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTColleges churn out graduates and confer advanced degrees, but the scramble for jobs continues.
The firemen confer with the organizers and then beckon them toward the front of the bus.
Walter worships objects and cash, believing they will magically confer upon him the social status he so desperately craves.
Now Hunter wanted to confer an honorary doctorate on me, and I needed to find the words to properly convey how honored I felt.
We shall, I know, emulate their steadfastness and achieve a result which will confer added laurels to French and British arms.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonScattergood, out of the corner of his eye, saw them rush together and confer frenziedly.
Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington KellandMr. Monterey will confer with us at noon, and before school is dismissed to-day we will announce the winner.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage | Gertrude W. MorrisonBeen dropping in to confer with the vice-president about the local real estate situation.
After that he and Mert, as by a common thought impelled, climbed out and went over to a bushy live oak to confer in privacy.
Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
British Dictionary definitions for confer
/ (kənˈfɜː) /
(tr; foll by on or upon) to grant or bestow (an honour, gift, etc)
(intr) to hold or take part in a conference or consult together
(tr) an obsolete word for compare
Origin of confer
1Derived forms of confer
- conferment or conferral, noun
- conferrable, adjective
- conferrer, noun
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
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