confessor

American  

[kuhn-fes-er] / kənˈfɛs ər /

Or confesser

noun

1. a person who confesses.

2. a priest authorized to hear confessions.

3. a person who confesses faith in and adheres to the Christian religion, especially in spite of persecution and torture but without suffering martyrdom.

4. the Confessor. Edward the Confessor.

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confessor British  

/ kənˈfɛsə /

noun

1. Christianity RC Church a priest who hears confessions and sometimes acts as a spiritual counsellor

2. history a person who bears witness to his Christian religious faith by the holiness of his life, esp in resisting threats or danger, but does not suffer martyrdom

3. a person who makes a confession

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Etymology

Origin of confessor

before 1000; Middle English, Old English (in pl: confessores ) < Late Latin; see confess, -tor

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confessor

The success of “Father Brown” rests in the way Williams plays with the notion of the priest as a quiet, trustworthy confessor.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026

Times television critic Mary McNamara said Walters was part confessor, part therapist and succeeded brilliantly at making “emotion newsworthy.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2022

Opened in 1804, the 110-acre cemetery — named after Louis XIV’s confessor, the Rev. François de La Chaise d’Aix — perches on a hillside peering down at central Paris.

From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2022

When the Father arose his confessor grasped him by the hand, and after a few words had been exchanged, Father Dupiéreux advanced alone in the direction of the wood.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

But Zell continued to open up until Bull, renouncing his role of confessor, insisted that he had to get to work.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy