confirmation
Americannoun
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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:
Mullin said during his confirmation hearing that he wanted to keep the agency out of the headlines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Blanche is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will decide whether to approve his nomination and send it to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Red dwarfs, however, can produce powerful flares that imitate the ultraviolet signal of a white dwarf, making confirmation more difficult.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
Posting on Facebook, their daughter Danielle Gillam-Kirton, from Sheffield, said the family were "heartbroken to share that we have received confirmation from the police that Mum and Dad did not survive the fire".
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
And then at least I can go back to Jankburg with the confirmation that I shouldn’t even be dreaming this dream, and just weave myself firmly back into the tapestry of local boredom.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
One of its earliest confirmations came from Mercury's orbit, which shifts slightly more than Newton's laws alone could explain.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026
Senate confirmations take time, and without that signal, the administration can’t plan a second nomination because they don’t know if the seat is opening up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
The Fed’s board can vote to install an interim chair to lead the Fed and has done so when confirmations have lagged.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
Nicky Henderson's Arkle Chase winner Jango Baie is also among the eight confirmations as is The Jukebox Man, owned by former football manager Harry Redknapp.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025
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.
