confessor
Americannoun
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a person who confesses.
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a priest authorized to hear confessions.
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a person who confesses faith in and adheres to the Christian religion, especially in spite of persecution and torture but without suffering martyrdom.
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the Confessor. Edward the Confessor.
noun
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Christianity RC Church a priest who hears confessions and sometimes acts as a spiritual counsellor
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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
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a person who makes a confession
Etymology
Origin of confessor
before 1000; Middle English, Old English (in pl: confessores ) < Late Latin; see confess, -tor
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.
But Walters was unstoppable, and as the 1980s and 1990s progressed, she became a mother confessor for perpetrators and victims of scandal.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2025
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
He listens to his old acquaintance’s monologue through “an increasing indefinable discomfort” that he is being used, while accepting the ego boost he gets from playing Cook’s confessor.
From Washington Post • Jan. 11, 2022
"The next place for him to go is to church and to see his confessor," the PR professional said.
From Fox News • Aug. 11, 2021
Not the priest, but Mother, should be my confessor.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
