confess

verb

con·​fess kən-ˈfes 

confessed; confessing; confesses

transitive verb

1

: to tell or make known (something, such as something wrong or damaging to oneself) : admit

he confessed his guilt

2

a

: to acknowledge (sin) to God or to a priest

b

: to receive the confession of (a penitent)

3

: to declare faith in or adherence to : profess

4

: to give evidence of

Breeze, bird, and flower confess the hour …

—Sir Walter Scott

intransitive verb

1

a

: to disclose one's faults

specifically : to unburden one's sins or the state of one's conscience to God or to a priest

b

: to hear a confession

2

: admit, own

confess to a crime

confessable

kən-ˈfe-sə-bəl 

adjective

Synonyms of confess

• admit

Choose the Right Synonym for confess

acknowledge, admit, own, avow, confess mean to disclose against one's will or inclination.

acknowledge implies the disclosing of something that has been or might be concealed.

acknowledged an earlier peccadillo

admit implies reluctance to disclose, grant, or concede and refers usually to facts rather than their implications.

admitted the project was over budget

own implies acknowledging something in close relation to oneself.

must own I know little about computers

avow implies boldly declaring, often in the face of hostility, what one might be expected to be silent about.

avowed that he was a revolutionary

confess may apply to an admission of a weakness, failure, omission, or guilt.

confessed a weakness for sweets

Examples of confess in a Sentence

He confessed after being questioned for many hours.

He willingly confessed his crime.

I have to confess that I was afraid at first.

I confessed my sins to the priest.

Recent Examples on the Web

Slusser has also said in the lawsuits that Fleming confessed to being transgender during a conversation over ice cream in April 2024. —Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 14 Dec. 2025

The Brooklyn foursome of Model/Actriz confesses to this secret on an album that captures the tricky relationship between individuality and voyeurism. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2025

The makeover was made complete with a dirty blond wig with bangs accompanied by a partially faux facial hair that Chalamet later confessed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that was his thin mustache grown for Marty Supreme. —Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 12 Dec. 2025

Reports suggest that Moore’s relationship with his staffer had been ongoing for years, and even before the staffer confessed the relationship to administration, rumors had long been circulating. —Andrea Williams, Nashville Tennessean, 12 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English confessen "to admit, confess, (of a priest) hear a confession," borrowed from Anglo-French confesser (also continental Old French), derivative of confés "confessed, shriven," going back to Latin confessus, past participle of confiteor, confitērī "to admit (a fact, the truth of a statement or charge), reveal," from con- con- + fateor, fatērī "to accept as true, acknowledge, profess," probably a verbal derivative based on Indo-European *b^hh₂-to- "spoken" or *b^hh₂-t- "who speaks," from the verbal base *b^heh₂- "speak, say," whence also Latin for, fārī "to speak, say" — more at ban entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for confess

• abbess
• abscess
• access
• address
• assess
• caress
• depress
• digress
• distress
• egress
• excess
• express

Kids Definition

confess

verb

con·​fess kən-ˈfes 

1

: to make known (as something wrong)

2

a

: to admit one's sins to God or to a priest

b

: to hear the confession of

the priest confessed the penitents

Legal Definition

confess

transitive verb

con·​fess kən-ˈfes 

: to admit (as a charge or allegation) as true, proven, or valid

unless you answer, the petition shall be taken as confessed

intransitive verb

: to make a confession

confessor

kən-ˈfe-sər 

noun