confide
Americanverb (used without object)
-
confides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
confided,
past participle, past
-
confiding
present participle
-
to impart secrets trustfully; discuss private matters or problems (usually followed byin ).
She confides in no one but her husband.
-
to have full trust; have faith.
They confided in their own ability.
verb (used with object)
-
confides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
confided,
past participle, past
-
confiding
present participle
verb
-
to disclose (secret or personal matters) in confidence (to); reveal in private (to)
-
to have complete trust
-
(tr) to entrust into another's keeping
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
confidesimple
-
confidessimple
-
have confidedperfect
-
has confidedperfect
-
am confidingprogressive
-
are confidingprogressive
-
is confidingprogressive
-
have been confidingperfect progressive
-
has been confidingperfect progressive
Past
-
confidedsimple
-
had confidedperfect
-
was confidingprogressive
-
were confidingprogressive
-
had been confidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of confide
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin confīdere, from con- con- + fīdere “to trust” (akin to fidēs “faith, trust”; see fidelity)
Explanation
To confide in someone is to tell them something privately. We confide in people we trust. We all have secrets and subjects that are hard to talk about. When we want to talk about something sensitive, we look for someone to confide in: a person we trust not to blab about our business to the rest of the world. Most people confide in close friends or family, often to get advice. If you tell someone a secret, and then they tell ten of their friends, you made a mistake by confiding in that person.
Vocabulary lists containing confide
"Of Mice and Men"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 15
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Bronx Masquerade
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
In the school corridor, outside an English classroom decorated with artwork depicting various Shakespeare plays, friends Hena and Fena confide they have mixed feelings about the ban.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
It might be tempting to confide in colleagues that you’re having a hard time connecting with your manager, but that probably isn’t a good idea, Williams says.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 28, 2026
She started to confide in friends about stress, or things that bothered her, which otherwise would have stayed inside.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
Rick turned to his circle of friends to confide his greatest fears of being left alone, sparing Suzanne.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
Lord, I prayed silently, if it is not safe to confide in Fred, stop this conversation now before it is too late.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
In Naiguata, a small coastal town famous for its traditional "dancing devils" festival, Cesar Rendon, 49, a former inmate who lived in the town's halfway house, confides that he "unburdened himself" with Apostol.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
She confides her joy in working there and also tells John that he was abandoned as a baby on the steps of the store.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
But Felix confides that while many students still keep phones in their pockets - so long as teachers do not see - he believes keeping the screens out of sight has made them more present.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
One woman, who doesn’t want to give her name, confides that she’d like to hear from her brother, who recently died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2025
But Theo leaves to go back to work before Vincent, and at New Years Vincent confides in his parents that he might quit his job.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
While wrestling with his response to the Roebucks, Walters confided in Collins, his half brother.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
But alone in the living room, Nasir, 47, confided that his younger daughter "is depressed and does not always have strong morale to continue learning on her own at home."
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
"I know who it was," he confided to the man he did not know was recording him.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
In the summer of 2017, Walker confided in Epstein about encounters she’d had with Gates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Mr. Weasley had explained that after the death of Dumbledore, their Secret-Keeper, each of the people to whom Dumbledore had confided Grimmauld Place’s location had become a Secret-Keeper in turn.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
After confiding in a padre - a military chaplain - the 56-year-old says she was reported to bosses and admitted to hospital, where she was held in isolation.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Anthony never married, and she considered herself to some degree Stanton’s amanuensis, confiding to an intimate that she felt that her best work had been “making the way clear” for her friend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
As more emails emerge, there's a growing impression of how much Ferguson seemed to depend on Epstein, telling him he was her "pillar" and confiding "I have been so so sad".
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
They were comfortable confiding in one another to the point of calling the war “already a lost cause for Germany,” as Kiep put it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
Aunt Fanny Wedgwood called her bright and engaging, “so open and confiding and lovable.”
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
