confer

American  

[kuhn-fur] / kənˈfɜr /

verb (used without object)

• confers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conferred,
  past participle,  past
• conferring
  present participle

1. to consult together; compare opinions; carry on a discussion or deliberation.

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verb (used with object)

• confers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conferred,
  past participle,  past
• conferring
  present participle

1. to bestow upon as a gift, favor, honor, etc..

   to confer a degree on a graduate.

2. Obsolete. to compare.

confer British  

/ kənˈfɜː /

verb

1. (tr; foll by on or upon) to grant or bestow (an honour, gift, etc)

2. (intr) to hold or take part in a conference or consult together

3. (tr) an obsolete word for compare

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Synonym Usage

See consult. See give.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• conferment
  noun
• conferrer
  noun
• reconfer
  verb
• preconfer
  verb (used without object)
• conferrable
  adjective
• nonconferrable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• conferring
  present
• conferred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• confer
  simple
• confers
  simple
• have conferred
  perfect
• has conferred
  perfect
• am conferring
  progressive
• are conferring
  progressive
• is conferring
  progressive
• have been conferring
  perfect progressive
• has been conferring
  perfect progressive

Past

• conferred
  simple
• had conferred
  perfect
• was conferring
  progressive
• were conferring
  progressive
• had been conferring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will confer
  simple
• will have conferred
  perfect
• will be conferring
  progressive
• will have been conferring
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confer confers conferred conferring

Part of the appeal of these near-premium cards is that they still confer a sense of exclusivity that doesn’t come with free or lower-fee cards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

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

The consequence is to confer substantially greater discretion on the executive.

From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026

With our bowls of porridge in hand, I led Walter and Kathy over to the south end of the courtyard as though I wanted to confer with them privately.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

"Leisa is a phenomenal talent, and casting directors and filmmakers will be sitting up and taking notice. She has warmth and charisma and that magical but unquantifiable essence that confers star status," he added.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Barbara, the chief justice and Justice Barrett joined the liberal bloc in holding that the 14th Amendment confers citizenship to U.S.-born children whose parents are in the country unlawfully or temporarily.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 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

I certainly wasn’t seeking any degree, the way a college confers a status symbol upon its students.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

It’s clear they also wanted to maintain the impunity conferred by America’s superpower status.

From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026

Douglass’s “Narrative” was his claim to the rights conferred, not upon a craftsman, but upon a human being.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

Furthermore, she wrote, Puig went into the bathroom with defense lawyers and possibly conferred about the case.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 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

I conferred with my mother about my plight, and as always she had an encouraging word.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Gulf states aren’t the only ones conferring with the White House.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 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

A firefighting aircraft was able to fly over the fire Monday and was conferring with firefighters on the ground to decide whether it would be possible to use more aircraft, Theune said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 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

One day I was at the Head Office conferring with the commanding officer.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• advise
• argue
• brainstorm
• consult
• huddle
• negotiate
• speak