confession

noun con·fes·sion \ kən-ˈfe-shən \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

1 a : an act of confessing; especially : a disclosure of one's sins in the sacrament of reconciliation

b : a session for the confessing of sins

go to confession

2 : a statement of what is confessed: such as

a : a written or oral acknowledgment of guilt by a party accused of an offense

b : a formal statement of religious beliefs : creed

the Augsburg Confession of the Lutheran Church

3 : an organized religious body having a common creed

See confession defined for English-language learners

See confession defined for kids

Examples of confession in a Sentence

She went to the police station and made a full confession.
I have a confession to make: I have never done this before.
The priest will hear confessions after mass today.
I haven't gone to confession in three years.

Recent Examples of confession from the Web

At Gray’s trial, prosecutors focused on evidence that the fire had been intentionally set and the confession from Gray.

— jason meisner, chicagotribune.com, "Man wrongfully convicted in fatal arson files lawsuit alleging Chicago police coerced his confession," 12 Apr. 2018
During the trial, which lasted more than a week, Boswell-Johnson’s attorney, Antoini M. Jones, contended the confession from his client was coerced.

— Washington Post, "‘How much is too much to allow a 2-year-old to live?’ Murder trial over $600 child support payments ends in a conviction.," 4 Apr. 2018
The Orange County jailhouse informant scandal has upended criminal cases and led to state and federal investigations into how prosecutors and jailers used snitches to obtain confessions from other inmates.

— adam elmahrek, latimes.com, "ACLU sues Orange County D.A. and sheriff over use of jailhouse informants," 4 Apr. 2018
Catholics have the sacrament of confession, or reconciliation.

— terry pluto, cleveland.com, "Faith & You: Dealing with guilt, shame and regret -- Terry Pluto," 30 Mar. 2018
These detectives were later involved in obtaining false confessions from other subjects.

— angela helm, The Root, "After Being Wrongly Jailed for 23 Years, Chicago Man Gets His Old Job Back. Whoopee," 27 Mar. 2018
That's why Easter celebrations are preceded by Lent (a time of abstinence and penance), the Easter Vigil (when new believers are baptised), and, sometimes, the sacrament of confession.

— refinery29.com, "This Is The Reason Why People Celebrate Easter," 27 Mar. 2018
According to The Wrap, Lahren made the confession in an Instagram story, explaining that her dog, Kota, was making noise during the appearance.

— tierney mcafee, PEOPLE.com, "Conservative Firebrand Tomi Lahren Says She Kicked Her Dog 5 Times in Live Fox & Friends Appearance," 15 Mar. 2018
The teens alternated between laughter and more serious confessions from their own lives about coming out, using social media to feel less alone, and looking for on-screen role models that have been sorely lacking.

— jessica zack, San Francisco Chronicle, "San Francisco LGBTQ teens feel the love for movie ‘Love, Simon’," 9 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'confession.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of confession

14th century

confession Synonyms

CONFESSION Defined for English Language Learners

confession

noun

: a written or spoken statement in which you say that you have done something wrong or committed a crime
: the act of telling people something that makes you embarrassed, ashamed, etc.
: the act of telling your sins to God or to a priest

CONFESSION Defined for Kids

confession

noun con·fes·sion \ kən-ˈfe-shən \

1 : an act of telling of sins or wrong, illegal, or embarrassing acts

2 : a written or spoken admission of guilt of a crime

Law Dictionary

confession

noun con·fes·sion

1 : an act of confessing

2 : an acknowledgment of a fact or allegation as true or proven; especially : a written or oral statement by an accused party acknowledging the party's guilt (as by admitting commission of a crime) — compare admission, declaration against interest at declaration, self-incrimination

Note: Courts differ on how a confession establishes the accused's guilt; for example, in some jurisdictions the confession has to establish all the necessary elements of the crime. In order to be admissible as evidence, a confession must be voluntary. A guilty plea is considered a judicial confession.