confirmation
Americannoun
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confirmations
plural
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an act or instance of confirming, or of establishing someone or something, as by verifying, approving, or corroborating.
The study is an attempt at the scientific confirmation of previous anecdotal results.
The nomination and confirmation of this candidate as Court of Appeals Judge is a step in the right direction.
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Religion.
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a rite in some Christian churches, in which baptized individuals profess their faith, are accorded status as full members, and, in some denominations, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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a solemn ceremony among Reform and certain Conservative Jews, admitting young people to adult membership in the Jewish community after completion of a prescribed course of study.
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something that confirms, as a corroborative statement or piece of evidence.
His birth certificate served as confirmation of his citizenship.
noun
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the act of confirming
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something that confirms; verification
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a rite in several Christian churches that confirms a baptized person in his or her faith and admits him or her to full participation in the church
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(in the philosophy of science) the relationship between an observation and the theory which it supposedly renders more probable Compare hypothetico-deductive
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonconfirmationnoun
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preconfirmationnoun
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reconfirmationnoun
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self-confirmationnoun
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superconfirmationnoun
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confirmationaladjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of confirmation
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French and Latin confirmātiōn-, stem of confirmātiō; see confirm, -ation
Explanation
A confirmation provides proof that something is true. An example might be when you receive confirmation that your flight will be on time, or you find out that something you thought might have happened actually did occur. Confirmation is verification or final proof of something. In the church, confirmation is a rite in which a person if awarded full acceptance into — i.e., confirmed in — the religion, usually presented in a ceremony attended by family and friends. You can see how that ties in with the more general definition of substantiation of a fact or assertion. Confirmation is an obvious derivative of the verb confirm.
Vocabulary lists containing confirmation
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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The Poet X
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Analyzing Arguments: From Reading to Writing (Chapter 3)
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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:
"This paper publishes a new adult fossil attributed to Homo erectus, DNH 127, providing further confirmation that this species first appeared in southern Africa 2 million years ago."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Local governments are now urging the prime minister's office to figure out a way to resolve the death confirmation issue.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
But he needs constant confirmation that his movement is growing.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026
At his July Senate confirmation hearing, Clayton described AI as an essential opportunity and a serious threat for the intelligence community.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
I was wearing my only Sunday outfit, a white lace dress that I had worn to my confirmation two years before.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
Booking.com said it had "visible reminders to not click on links customers are not confident about, and booking confirmations also provide further guidance, including details of the agreed payment schedule".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
If those confirmations arise, we will act on them.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Over his decadeslong career, he has played crucial roles in the confirmations of Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Musical daydreams, Ms. Margulis writes, are “among the most profound confirmations that radical interconnectedness lies at the heart of human cognition.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Howard began ordering multiple trainloads of cars, some three hundred at a time, and printing his orders and the company shipping confirmations in full-page ads.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
