confidant

American  

[kon-fi-dant, -dahnt, -duhnt, kon-fi-dant, -dahnt] / ˈkɒn fɪˌdænt, -ˌdɑnt, -dənt, ˌkɒn fɪˈdænt, -ˈdɑnt /

noun

1. a close friend or associate to whom secrets are confided or with whom private matters and problems are discussed.

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confidant British  

/ ˌkɒnfɪˈdænt, ˈkɒnfɪˌdænt /

noun

1. a person, esp a man, to whom private matters are confided

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Usage

What’s the difference between confidant, confidante, and confident? Confidant is a noun meaning someone you feel comfortable telling secret or private things to—a person you confide in. The word confidante is a gender-specific form of confidant that’s applied to women. Confident is an adjective that means sure of oneself or one’s abilities, or having a high level of certainty about something. Very rarely, the word confident can be used as a noun meaning the same thing as confidant, but we’re pretty confident almost no one uses it this way. We’re also sorry to report that there’s a kind of sofa called a confidente that can also be called a confidante, but honestly you’ll be better off if you just forget we ever said anything about it. Confidant and confidante are borrowed from French, which has grammatical gender, so some words end differently depending on whether they are applied to men or women (with e being the feminine ending). This happens in a few other pairs of words in English, like blond and blonde, though in many cases the term without the e has become largely gender-neutral. This is the case with confidant, which is the more commonly used of the two. What’s the best way to be confident that you’re using the right word? Just remember that the ending of both confidant and confidante sounds like the more formal pronunciation of aunt—your aunt could be your confidant (as could your commandant, the ending of which also sounds the same). The ending of confident, on the other hand, sounds like dent. Here’s an example of confidant and confident used correctly in the same sentence. (The word confidant could be replaced with confidante if you were referring to a woman and wanted to make the term gender-specific.)Example: I am confident that what I confide to my confidant stays confidential. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between confidant, confidante, and confident.

Etymology

Origin of confidant

1705–15; < French confident < Italian confidente, noun use of adj.; confident

Explanation

A confidant is the person you tell your secrets to. Your confidant has all the dirt on you, so don't forget his birthday or he might start talking... Confidants are people you trust enough to tell anything, like that you cried during The Muppet Movie. They might give advice, too. The President has lots of confidants in his inner circle who not only know all about secret government issues, but also give their opinions about what actions he should take. Make sure to spell the word with the ant ending, because confident means something else. Think of confiding in your aunt, your confidANT.

Example Sentences

“He’s a friend, he’s a confidant, and he’s like a Swiss Army knife. He’s helpful with the economy. So I’m gonna miss him.”

From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026

"You can have these fantasies about sticking it to world leaders," one confidant of the PM said, "but you still have to speak to them the next day. What do you say then?"

From BBC • Jan. 21, 2026

The head of RedBird Capital Partners and Paramount CEO David Ellison’s close confidant has spent the week in Europe with Paramount executives, in part to lobby regulators to back its bid and reject Netflix’s deal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Next came residencies from breakouts Johnnyswim and JP Saxe, and later, folksters Clearwater and her close confidant Rett Madison.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 30, 2025

It all seemed very noble—and frustrating to those involved—until Mark came across an exchange between Mr. Spilker and Ladena Lichliter, who seemed to be his closest confidant, that sent an icy chill along his arms.

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner

Related Words

• acquaintance
• adviser
• companion
• crony