confess
[ kuhn-fes ]
/ kənˈfɛs /
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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
synonym study for confess
1. See
acknowledge.
OTHER WORDS FROM confess
Words nearby confess
Example sentences from the Web for confess
British Dictionary definitions for confess
confess
/ (kənˈfɛs) /
verb (when tr, may take a clause as object)
(when intr, often foll by to)
to make an acknowledgment or admission (of faults, misdeeds, crimes, etc)
(tr)
to admit or grant to be true; concede
Christianity, mainly RC Church
to declare (one's sins) to God or to a priest as his representative, so as to obtain pardon and absolution
Derived forms of confess
confessable, adjectiveWord Origin for confess
C14: from Old French
confesser, from Late Latin
confessāre, from Latin
confessus confessed, from
confitērī to admit, from
fatērī to acknowledge; related to Latin
fārī to speak