confession

[ kuh n-fesh-uh n ]
/ kənˈfɛʃ ən /

noun

acknowledgment; avowal; admission: a confession of incompetence.
acknowledgment or disclosure of sin or sinfulness, especially to a priest to obtain absolution.
something that is confessed.
a formal, usually written, acknowledgment of guilt by a person accused of a crime.
Also called confession of faith. a formal profession of belief and acceptance of doctrines, as before being admitted to church membership.
the tomb of a martyr or confessor or the altar or shrine connected with it.

Origin of confession

1350–1400; < Latin confessiōn- (stem of confessiō), equivalent to confess- (see confess) + -iōn- -ion; replacing Middle English confessioun < Anglo-French

OTHER WORDS FROM confession

pre·con·fes·sion, noun

Example sentences from the Web for confession

British Dictionary definitions for confession

confession
/ (kənˈfɛʃən) /

noun

the act of confessing
something confessed
an acknowledgment or declaration, esp of one's faults, misdeeds, or crimes
Christianity, mainly RC Church the act of a penitent accusing himself or herself of his or her sins
confession of faith a formal public avowal of religious beliefs
a religious denomination or sect united by a common system of beliefs

Derived forms of confession

confessionary, adjective

Cultural definitions for confession

confession

In some churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, a sacrament in which repentant sinners individually or as a group privately confess their sins in front of a priest and receive absolution from the guilt of their sins.

In the first few centuries of Christianity, repentant sinners were assigned public penances: sinners had to stay outside the entrance of the church and ask the people going inside to pray for them. The period of public penance could be shortened through an indulgence.