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If you're confident of the trustworthiness of your confidants, you're tuned into the origins of the word confidant. The word comes, via French, from the Italian confidente, meaning "trusting, having trust in," from Latin confīdere, meaning "to put one’s trust in, have confidence in.” Other descendants of confīdere in English include confide, confidence, confident, and confidential, all of which ultimately have Latin fīdere, meaning "to trust (in), rely (on)," as their root. Confidant (and its variant confidante, used especially of a woman) and confident are often confused, a topic about which we have plenty to say.
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Is it confident or confidant? (Or is it confidante?)
If you find yourself unsure whether you should choose confident or confidant don’t feel bad; confidant comes to English from the French word confident, and when the word first entered our language it was often spelled that way, rather than as confidant. The difference is quite simple: confidant is a noun (meaning "a person in whom you confide things"), and confident is an adjective (defined as “having confidence”). You may well be confident in your confidant, but you would not be confidant in your confident. Although this distinction has not always been observed by writers, confidante is generally used for a female confidant. The word confidant is more frequently used to describe a man, but it may be applied to either gender.
Synonyms
Examples of confidant in a Sentence
Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News, 1 Apr. 2024
The producer compares the culpability of Chief of staff Kristina Khorram to that of Jeffrey Epstein’s confidant Ghislaine Maxwell.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Webb, his rotation partner and close confidant, thought Cobb was kidding.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024
During the ensuing power struggle, a British navigator arrives and piques the interest of a local lord, who eventually positions him as a trusted confidant and advisor.
—USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close confidant who also holds the title of deputy prime minister, was to serve as acting prime minister during the operation, the prime minister’s office said.
—NBC News, 2 Apr. 2024
Murphy did not express an opinion about the line, but the attorney general of New Jersey, a confidant and direct appointee of her husband, submitted a remarkable letter to the judge, stating that the line was legally indefensible.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
Snell will have a close confidant to consult, having broken into the big leagues during Cobb’s final two seasons in Tampa.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024
Mother and son live in voluntary exile with only a white crocodile as their confidant.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'confidant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
borrowed from French confident, borrowed from Italian confidente, noun derivative of confidente "trusting, having trust in," borrowed from Latin confīdent-, confīdens, present participle of confīdere "to put one's trust in, have confidence in" — more at confide
1646, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Confidant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confidant. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
confidant
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on confidant
Nglish: Translation of confidant for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of confidant for Arabic Speakers
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