confess
[ kuhn-fes ]
/ kənˈfɛs /
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verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use confess in a sentence
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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