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
-
confirmsimple
-
confirmssimple
-
have confirmedperfect
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has confirmedperfect
-
am confirmingprogressive
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are confirmingprogressive
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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 researchers then set out to confirm that the enzyme contained a molybdenum metallocofactor.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
A spokesperson for Bonta’s office said in a statement: “Potential settlement talks are confidential. We cannot confirm or deny whether settlement talks are occurring or their alleged substance.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Two studies confirm that sentiment, rather than anything fundamental, is the source of investors’ low equity exposure in October.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Noah Woods, who disappeared on Tuesday, is pictured on the front page of the Independent after police confirm a body was found near where the toddler vanished.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
She nodded at her husband as if to confirm something they had talked about.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
The brand made a single pair just for the customer, Khaite confirms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Neither study directly confirms or overturns the original Menin results.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
In it, Noel confirms the band is "not a power struggle any more".
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Revolut confirms customer data breach through fake government requests.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
“The bank confirms the robber did not look like this suspect,” he says.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
Kraft, who is Jewish, confirmed he banned the US rapper from performing at Gillette, accusing Macklemore of hate speech and antisemitic rhetoric.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
As for the residual costs of exercising her right to offend back in 2017, Griffin confirmed that some of her shows still draw protesters.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Scientists have repeatedly proposed the possibility of an additional fifth force, but no such force has ever been confirmed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Dasafo’s friend Kash Ahmad confirmed to the BBC that he died at his home in Ghana.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
He confirmed their suspicion that the country was facing a major crisis.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
After ProPublica’s story was published, Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina Trump, released a joint statement confirming Kremlev’s role.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Markets will also react to Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address this morning, with the commission confirming the EU’s willingness to make Canada an associate member of the bloc.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Wong sat in the courtroom dock as the charges were read out, before confirming his guilty plea.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Hom also leads precursor observing programs with ground-based telescopes, work that is essential for confirming which targets should be selected for future Roman science programs.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
Only a day had been required to get the crucial photograph confirming Pauling’s prediction.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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.
