confirm
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of; corroborate; verify.
This report confirms my suspicions.
- Synonyms:
- validate, authenticate, substantiate, prove
- Antonyms:
- disprove
-
to acknowledge with definite assurance.
Did the hotel confirm our room reservation?
-
to make valid or binding by some formal or legal act; sanction; ratify.
to confirm a treaty;
to confirm her appointment to the Supreme Court.
- Antonyms:
- invalidate
-
to make firm or more firm; add strength to; settle or establish firmly.
Their support confirmed my determination to run for mayor.
- Synonyms:
- fix
- Antonyms:
- shake
-
to strengthen (a person) in habit, resolution, opinion, etc..
The accident confirmed him in his fear of driving.
-
to administer the religious rite of confirmation to.
verb
-
(may take a clause as object) to prove to be true or valid; corroborate; verify
-
(may take a clause as object) to assert for a second or further time, so as to make more definite
he confirmed that he would appear in court
-
to strengthen or make more firm
his story confirmed my doubts
-
to make valid by a formal act or agreement; ratify
-
to administer the rite of confirmation to
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
confirmabilitynoun
-
confirmernoun
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unconfirmabilitynoun
-
preconfirmverb (used with object)
-
reconfirmverb (used with object)
-
unconfirmverb (used with object)
-
confirmableadjective
-
confirmatoryadjective
-
nonconfirmingadjective
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confirminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
confirmsimple
-
confirmssimple
-
have confirmedperfect
-
has confirmedperfect
-
am confirmingprogressive
-
are confirmingprogressive
-
is confirmingprogressive
-
have been confirmingperfect progressive
-
has been confirmingperfect progressive
Past
-
confirmedsimple
-
had confirmedperfect
-
was confirmingprogressive
-
were confirmingprogressive
-
had been confirmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of confirm
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin confirmāre “to strengthen, confirm” ( see con-, firm 1); replacing Middle English confermen, from Old French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
When you need to make sure before you leave that you have a reservation, you often call ahead to confirm, that is, to make sure that your tickets or space are set aside for you. The firm in confirm should give you a clue as to the word's meaning: to shore up or verify something. When you make sure something is set, or firm, you confirm it. The word comes from the Latin con- "together, altogether," and firmāre "make firm," so confirm originally meant roughly "to make (something) altogether firm."
Vocabulary lists containing confirm
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 3
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
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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:
Hours of trawling through the literature seemed to confirm that no-one else had known what this little seaweed that lived on maerl was either.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Still, the jobs data will likely confirm that the war in the Middle East hasn’t hit the New Zealand economy too hard thus far.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The league hasn’t announced its plans for shifting games outside of Illinois other than to confirm they aspire to do so.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Preventing unwanted electric fields was especially important because the researchers needed to confirm that the electron flow came entirely from the light.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Amaya was staring at him too, and then she turned her wide eyes to Magdalys, as if to confirm they’d both noticed the same thing.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
When the chatbot advice confirms and explains their diagnosis, they welcome it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Combs is expected to be released from prison on Jan. 24, 2028, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate database confirms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
If future prospective research confirms the findings, diabetes prevention may need to become more personalized.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Israel itself is widely believed to have nuclear weapons, but it neither confirms nor denies that this is the case.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
“The bank confirms the robber did not look like this suspect,” he says.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
The manager, Robert Attermann, confirmed his death to AFP, but did not offer details about the circumstances.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Jacie Prieto Lopez, vice president of communications for LA28, the Olympics organizing group, confirmed that improvements would be made to the facility but said specifics were still being sorted out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Former West Ham co-owner David Gold's daughter Vanessa has confirmed the family plan to sell their shares in the club to a consortium headed by ex-Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Authorities stressed they have not confirmed that claim and continue to investigate the case as an active kidnapping.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
He confirmed that Burger had been in the hands of the Gestapo.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
The defence barrister then asked for a pre-sentence report to be compiled by probation on his client, with the Crown confirming Victim Impact Statements will also be made.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
However, confirming whether those planets have atmospheres has been one of the most difficult challenges in exoplanet research.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
County officials said they weren’t able to identify the raptor and that even confirming the sex of a bald eagle is no easy feat, given they have no external genitalia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
"The gallery will open on Wednesday," the source said, confirming a report in Le Parisien newspaper and added Culture Minister Catherine Pegard would be present.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
My parents corner me in a hug that mimics the one at Aaron’s blowout party, when we were confirming that our futures were bright.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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.
