confirm
Americanverb (used with object)
-
confirms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
confirmed,
past participle, past
-
confirming
present participle
-
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
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confirmabilitynoun
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confirmernoun
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unconfirmabilitynoun
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preconfirmverb (used with object)
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reconfirmverb (used with object)
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unconfirmverb (used with object)
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confirmableadjective
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confirmatoryadjective
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nonconfirmingadjective
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confirminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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confirmsimple
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confirmssimple
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have confirmedperfect
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has confirmedperfect
-
am confirmingprogressive
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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:
The consumer-price index for October, due out Tuesday morning, is expected to confirm inflation remained still stubbornly high.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
A cross-party motion asked the council to tell the ICB and local NHS trust that survivors and the bereaved remained a top priority, and to urge NHS England to confirm long-term funding.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026
Publicly, authorities are reluctant to say who they think is responsible and have yet to confirm that the actions even form a single coordinated campaign.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026
These advantages could make it easier to develop a widely accessible treatment if future clinical trials confirm that sulforaphane is effective against Friedreich ataxia.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
He glanced into the mirror to confirm that, as he suspected, he looked like death.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
If future research confirms that the medications directly reduce dementia risk, the implications could be substantial, particularly for older adults who already need treatment for osteoporosis.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026
The authors have called for a "tick box" to enable staff to access records which confirms they have legitimate reason to do so.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Independent research confirms that trades on some economic outcomes outperform the Wall Street consensus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Extensive research confirms the axiom that a sense of civic duty is the strongest predictor of whether someone will vote.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
But none of it surprises me, just confirms what I already knew: Brian is a way cool person and he and my brother were in love.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
In 2015, a joint analysis by the LHCb and CMS collaborations reported the first confirmed observation of Bs → μ+μ-, along with initial evidence for the much rarer Bd decay.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 10, 2026
While the race organizer confirmed they treated runners for dehydration and overheating, some online have speculated that something more sinister could be the cause of the illnesses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026
In a post on social media, the attraction confirmed that work is still underway to address the oil contamination and that a number of pens remain out of bounds.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026
The Nvidia CEO confirmed in a Sunday note to staff that he had an extramarital affair and apologized for being unfaithful to his wife, to whom he has been married for more than 40 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
Many suffered from one illness or another, Farmer observed, and Lafontant confirmed that there was little or no medicine for them.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Few details about the wedding have been released, with Swift's publicist confirming at the time both the singer and Kelce wore Christian Dior.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
“And that became part of the story,” Melvin said, before confirming that he had apologized for the spilled chocolate when it had happened.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
The analysis produced a 98 to 99 percent match with P. imbricornus, confirming the identity of the beetle responsible for the root damage.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Two events made this maneuver worth trying: The first was a Supreme Court decision in 1898 confirming that birthright citizenship applied to all regardless of race.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
She doesn’t look surprised; she looks as though I am confirming her worst suspicions.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
