confess

verb

con·​fess kən-ˈfes How to pronounce confess (audio)
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 adjective
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Just hours after confessing his love to Teeter, ranch hand Colby (Denim Richards) comes to the rescue of Carter, a teen taken in by the Dutton ranch, when Carter is trapped and cornered in a stall by a troubled horse. Colleen Kratofil, People.com, 2 Dec. 2024 In 2006, John Mark Karr confessed in an email to killing JonBenét, but investigators found no evidence linking him to the crime and never charged him. Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024 Though White openly confessed to the murders, his real motivations for the killings were obscure. Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Nov. 2024 The experience of shooting Parks and Recreation's first season was defined more by inactivity than activity for some actors, Jim O'Heir confessed in his new behind-the-scenes memoir Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation. Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 24 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for confess 

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 *bhh2-to- "spoken" or *bhh2-t- "who speaks," from the verbal base *bheh2- "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

Time Traveler
The first known use of confess was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near confess

Cite this Entry

“Confess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confess. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

confess

verb
con·​fess kən-ˈfes How to pronounce confess (audio)
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 How to pronounce confess (audio)
: 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 noun

More from Merriam-Webster on confess

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