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

• 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

Prior to his arraignment, the defendant confessed to the sheriffs escorting him to the courtroom, the release said. —Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025

There, the men confess their most heartfelt fears, past and ancient Roman present melding. —John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025

After Tom shares the analogy of the bird that can’t find its way home with Robbie (Tom Pelphrey), the on-the-run thief confesses to seeing himself in the bird. —Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 23 Oct. 2025

Stefano Mele, husband of Barbara Locci, initially confessed to killing his wife and her lover but later retracted his statement. —Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 22 Oct. 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