confession

American  

[kuhn-fesh-uhn] / kənˈfɛʃ ən /

noun

• confessions
  plural

1. acknowledgment; avowal; admission.

   a confession of incompetence.

2. acknowledgment or disclosure of sin or sinfulness, especially to a priest to obtain absolution.

3. something that is confessed.

4. a formal, usually written, acknowledgment of guilt by a person accused of a crime.

5. Also called confession of faith. a formal profession of belief and acceptance of doctrines, as before being admitted to church membership.

6. the tomb of a martyr or confessor or the altar or shrine connected with it.

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confession British  

/ kənˈfɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of confessing

2. something confessed

3. an acknowledgment or declaration, esp of one's faults, misdeeds, or crimes

4. Christianity RC Church the act of a penitent accusing himself or herself of his or her sins

5. a formal public avowal of religious beliefs

6. a religious denomination or sect united by a common system of beliefs

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confession Cultural  

1. In some church es, notably the Roman Catholic Church, a sacrament in which repentant sinners individually or as a group privately confess their sins in front of a priest and receive absolution from the guilt of their sins. In the first few centuries of Christianity, repentant sinners were assigned public penances: sinners had to stay outside the entrance of the church and ask the people going inside to pray for them. The period of public penance could be shortened through an indulgence.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preconfession
  noun
• confessionary
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• confessions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of confession

1350–1400; < Latin confessiōn- (stem of confessiō ), equivalent to confess- ( see confess) + -iōn- -ion; replacing Middle English confessioun < Anglo-French

Explanation

A confession is an admission of guilt, fault, or a mistake. You’ve probably seen TV shows or movies where a detective says to a suspect "Confess!" The detective is trying to get a confession, which is a statement that admits some type of guilt. "I killed the mayor!" is a confession. "I forgot your birthday" is a confession. In some religions, confession is a sacrament where people admit their sins and seek forgiveness. When people have something painful to admit, they often start by saying, "I have a confession to make."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confession confessions

It was not only a confession but a road map, with the email addresses and phone numbers of people Kao thought agents ought to subpoena.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

I am 56 and have a confession that makes me feel like a terrible person: I have a friend, 58, who likes me much more than I like her.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

Following his confession, Oxford led police beyond a set of railroad tracks, past a church, to a tree stump near the bank of a creek.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

The countryish “Run Away” opens with the couplet “In the time of confession / In the hour of the storm,” as Beck, sounding dejected and lost, begs not to be left alone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Here was a confession he dared make only to his son.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

His confessions opened up an entirely new phase of the investigation.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

As he prepares to retire, Bishop McKeown has been reflecting on being part of being part of important moments in history and as well as being stopped on the street for confessions.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

In recent years, a stream of DNA exonerations has shown how widespread false confessions really are.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Compounding the novel’s Gothic gloom is the sense that these confessions do not provide their speakers any absolution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

My friendship with Louise was solidified over jacks, hopscotch and confessions, deep and dark, exchanged often after many a “Cross your heart you won’t tell?”

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

Related Words

• acknowledgment
• admission
• assertion
• concession
• disclosure
• proclamation
• revelation
• statement
• story