confer
Americanverb (used without object)
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confers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
conferred,
past participle, past
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conferring
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
confers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
conferred,
past participle, past
-
conferring
present participle
-
to bestow upon as a gift, favor, honor, etc..
to confer a degree on a graduate.
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Obsolete. to compare.
verb
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(tr; foll by on or upon) to grant or bestow (an honour, gift, etc)
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(intr) to hold or take part in a conference or consult together
-
(tr) an obsolete word for compare
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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confermentnoun
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conferrernoun
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reconferverb
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preconferverb (used without object)
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conferrableadjective
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nonconferrableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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confersimple
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conferssimple
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have conferredperfect
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has conferredperfect
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am conferringprogressive
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are conferringprogressive
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is conferringprogressive
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have been conferringperfect progressive
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has been conferringperfect progressive
Past
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conferredsimple
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had conferredperfect
-
was conferringprogressive
-
were conferringprogressive
-
had been conferringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of confer
First recorded in 1400–50 for earlier sense “to summon”; 1520–30 for current senses; late Middle English conferen, from Latin conferre “to bring together, compare, consult with,” equivalent to con- “with, together, completely” ( see con-) + ferre “to carry, bear” ( see bear 1)
Explanation
If you gab, chat, and talk it up with someone, you have conversation, but if you're looking for input from each other as you talk, you confer, or consult, together. They had a family meeting to confer about a schedule for sharing the new laptop. Many uses of the verb confer involve consulting with another person or as a group. Confer has a second use meaning "bestow," which means to award or hand over something. You can confer a medal on a winner or hero, or you can confer status through a promotion or assignment. Each year the teacher would confer the special honor of summer hamster-sitter on one responsible student.
Vocabulary lists containing confer
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Refugee
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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:
Different types of workouts also confer their own benefits when it comes to health and weight maintenance.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
That’s why older first-time parents should confer with their own parents to tackle the “who’s going to take care of you?” question.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
They confer the same economic and legal ownership, dividend and governance rights as their underlying shares.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The consequence is to confer substantially greater discretion on the executive.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026
Yet this paper was so childish and ill-advised that it would hardly be prudent to confer upon it the award.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Local allegiance never confers any opportunity to obtain citizenship, which natural allegiance does.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
At the heart of the case is the interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, which confers citizenship on anyone “born … in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Consequently, the clause confers on Congress especially broad authority over state electoral systems and makes judicial second-guessing of legislation designed to ensure equal representation for all particularly improper.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
And while it confers some key benefits — particularly a 2% reward on Costco purchases, delivered annually in the form of a store certificate — it isn’t necessarily a VIP-type program.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 13, 2026
Let each one leave his children every good thing this realm confers upon him!
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
He and Flores sat quietly, wearing headphones for translation while their attorneys conferred with the judge.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
It’s clear they also wanted to maintain the impunity conferred by America’s superpower status.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Besides the savings, the status conferred from having the credit card meant he was able to check bags, free of charge, and receive upgrades to business-class seats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
"Parliament was alive to the fact that those powers conferred on the secretary of state were significant powers," Sir James told the judges.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
As smoke from the oil fields melted into the sky, Hale conferred with Pike.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
The concept of a Christian “holy war”—a war conferring spiritual benefits—originates in medieval Latin Christianity, with its crusader theology of bellum sacrum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
U.S. and allied military planners, meanwhile, have spent months conferring on new blueprints for their combined force structures in Europe, under which the U.S. would reduce its nonnuclear deployments and Europeans would gradually fill gaps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
"After conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn't take starter reps in practice, we updated our report to reflect his practice participation," the Ravens said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
This week, Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn revoked a royal command he had issued in June conferring higher titles to 81 monks.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2025
“The judge will be conferring throughout the lunch recess,” Ed told Ishmael Chambers.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Definitions 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.
