confess
Americanverb (used with object)
-
confesses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
confessed,
past participle, past
-
confessing
present participle
-
to acknowledge or avow (a fault, crime, misdeed, weakness, etc.) by way of revelation.
- Antonyms:
- conceal
-
to own or admit as true.
I must confess that I haven't read the book.
- Antonyms:
- deny
-
to declare or acknowledge (one's sins), especially to God or a priest in order to obtain absolution.
-
(of a priest) to hear the confession of (a person).
-
to acknowledge one's belief or faith in; declare adherence to.
-
to reveal by circumstances.
verb (used without object)
-
confesses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
confessed,
past participle, past
-
confessing
present participle
-
to make confession plead guilty; own.
to confess to a crime.
-
to make confession of sins, especially to a priest.
-
(of a priest) to hear confession.
verb
-
to make an acknowledgment or admission (of faults, misdeeds, crimes, etc)
-
(tr) to admit or grant to be true; concede
-
Christianity RC Church to declare (one's sins) to God or to a priest as his representative, so as to obtain pardon and absolution
Synonym Usage
See acknowledge.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preconfessverb (used with object)
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confessableadjective
-
half-confessedadjective
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unconfessedadjective
-
unconfessingadjective
-
confessinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
confesssimple
-
confessessimple
-
have confessedperfect
-
has confessedperfect
-
am confessingprogressive
-
are confessingprogressive
-
is confessingprogressive
-
have been confessingperfect progressive
-
has been confessingperfect progressive
Past
-
confessedsimple
-
had confessedperfect
-
was confessingprogressive
-
were confessingprogressive
-
had been confessingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of confess
1300–50; Middle English confessen < Anglo-French, Old French confesser < Medieval Latin confessāre, verbal derivative of Latin confessus, past participle of confitērī to admit, confess, equivalent to con- con- + -fitērī, combining form of fatērī to admit
Explanation
When you confess, you admit to doing something wrong. You might feel guilty about eating the entire platter of chocolate chip cookies and confess to your mom before she notices. If she presses charges, you would confess to the cookie crime. Confess can be used to describe admitting to committing a crime. If you watch crime shows on TV, you've likely seen detectives trying to get a suspect to confess. Confess can also be used in a religious context. Catholics confess their sins to a priest on a regular basis. Don't confuse the word confess with apology. An apology involves expressing regret about something. When you confess, you're merely owning up to doing it — you might not be sorry.
Vocabulary lists containing confess
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act IV
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
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"America"
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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:
Given that clemency boards often look more favorably on applicants who acknowledge their wrongdoing and express remorse, I asked if he’d been tempted to confess.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
One of the purported motivations for “Juiced” was getting Simpson to confess to the murders on camera, though the proviso going in was that no one could bring them up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
But she became so unwell that she had to confess.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
I must confess that I long ago lost interest in what he was selling.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
I confess some part of me thought, If only I’d stuck around, this is the sort of catastrophe I might have created.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
“I also grew up watching a lot of telenovelas. They were really formative for me, specifically, the telenovelas on the local Channel 2,” Eimbcke confesses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
“I can’t seem to sit around in quiet contemplation anymore,” she confesses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
He confesses the group would probably have turned around if they hadn't been doing the climb for "such a good cause".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Muir confesses that this feature of the market is overlooked by many market players, partly because it’s esoteric and seemingly innocuous.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
“Charming Miss Woodhouse! allow me to interpret this interesting silence. It confesses that you have long understood me.”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
“Even though I talk well, it causes me great anxiety to go up in front of the City Commission,” she confessed.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
“I dabbled in basketball some too,” she confessed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
"I don't take the subway anymore to the big games," he confessed to reporters, but recalled riding the train regularly while growing up -- noting he always paid his fare.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Alan Greenspan confessed his “shocked disbelief” and largely kept his standing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
“We’re not really allowed to use them,” Bobby Gene confessed, betraying the brotherhood.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
Now, people are confessing their isolation to thousands of strangers on TikTok and Reddit hoping one of them might want to hang out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
“You’d be getting a phone call from me about an hour after we say goodbye, confessing all,” Seehorn answers, smiling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Ukrainian intelligence agent Vladyslav Reut says he did not kill Anastasiia Berezovska - a woman suspected of trying to assassinate a multimillionaire in Monaco - despite earlier confessing to it.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
By genuinely confessing on the dance floor, Madonna has made a far more moving and crucial “biopic” than any shiny studio film could afford her.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Like I’m confessing to the crime of being alive.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
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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.
