confess
[ kuhn-fes ]
/ kənˈfɛs /
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verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
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Origin of confess
1300–50; Middle English confessen<Anglo-French, Old French confesser<Medieval Latin confessāre, verbal derivative of Latin confessus, past participle of confitērī to admit, confess, equivalent to con-con- + -fitērī, combining form of fatērī to admit
synonym study for confess
1. See acknowledge.
OTHER WORDS FROM confess
Words nearby confess
conferencing, conferral, conferred, conferree, conferva, confess, confessant, confessedly, confession, confessional, confessionalism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for confess
British Dictionary definitions for confess
confess
/ (kənˈfɛs) /
verb (when tr, may take a clause as object)
(when intr, often foll by to) to make an acknowledgment or admission (of faults, misdeeds, crimes, etc)
(tr) to admit or grant to be true; concede
Christianity, mainly RC Church to declare (one's sins) to God or to a priest as his representative, so as to obtain pardon and absolution
Derived forms of confess
confessable, adjectiveWord Origin for confess
C14: from Old French confesser, from Late Latin confessāre, from Latin confessus confessed, from confitērī to admit, from fatērī to acknowledge; related to Latin fārī to speak
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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