confer
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to bestow upon as a gift, favor, honor, etc..
to confer a degree on a graduate.
-
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
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(tr) an obsolete word for compare
Related Words
Other Word Forms
- conferment noun
- conferrable adjective
- conferrer noun
- nonconferrable adjective
- preconfer verb (used without object)
- reconfer verb
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” ( con- ) + ferre “to carry, bear” ( 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.
Baghaei said that there have been no direct negotiations, but only messages through intermediaries stating that the U.S. wants to confer.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
"Individuals recovering from severe viral pneumonia, particularly those with smoking history, may benefit from enhanced lung cancer surveillance, and preventing severe infection through vaccination may confer indirect cancer protection benefits."
From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026
To read the word regulate to confer some independent tariff authority would undermine that clear legislative purpose.
From Slate • Mar. 4, 2026
He also suggested that Microsoft’s tight relationship with OpenAI doesn’t confer the advantages it once did, especially as the ChatGPT maker faces stiffer competition from Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026
She became aware of the nervy, fidgeting music behind her the moment it ceased, and in the sudden new measure of silence, which seemed to confer freedom, she decided she must eat breakfast.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
