confession

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noun con·fes·sion \ kən-ˈfe-shən \

Definition of confession

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

Göldi was tortured until a confession could be extracted, and on June 13, 1782, she was decapitated with a sword.

— ben panko, Smithsonian, "Last Person Executed as a Witch in Europe Gets a Museum," 29 Aug. 2017
The complaint points to seven other cases where convictions had been overturned after DNA evidence excluded the defendants, and in several instances, confessions were alleged to have been coerced.

— emily k. coleman, Lake County News-Sun, "Attorney: Waukegan agrees to its share of $9 million settlement in wrongful-conviction lawsuit," 28 Aug. 2017
Daenerys' confession to Jon was the second time in Sunday's episode that her supposed infertility was referenced.

— megan mccluskey, Time, "What That Emotional Daenerys-Jon Snow Moment Means for the Future of Game of Thrones," 20 Aug. 2017
Defense lawyers rargued that Tucker’s confession was coerced and that the DNA was misidentified.

— rafael olmeda, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Teen found guilty of murdering aspiring pastry chef," 18 Aug. 2017
Afterward, the student reported the confession to his supervisor at the police department, wrote up a report and submitted the recording.

— kristina davis, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Two aspiring cops: One suspected of arson, the other helped catch him," 29 July 2017
That particular 12 months of IRS evasion represented the fifth of 10 counts in an indictment that led to Blazer’s 2015 confession and conviction for racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and more.

— brian straus, SI.com, "Chuck Blazer's trail of corruption, crime leaves U.S. colleagues facing his complex legacy," 13 July 2017
After more than a year of investigation, while at the same time juggling routine patrol duties, Weerden obtained multiple confessions from Churchill.

— david owens, courant.com, "Tolland Prosecutors Honor Three As Police Officers Of The Year," 7 July 2017
Gonzalez was convicted in 1995 on the basis of the woman's identification of him and the confession, according to the lawsuit.

— emily k. coleman, Lake County News-Sun, "Insurance legal fight continues over possible settlement in Waukegan wrongful conviction lawsuit," 4 July 2017

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

Synonyms

acknowledgment (or acknowledgement), admission, avowal, concession, self-confession

Antonyms

disavowal, nonadmission

Near Antonyms

denial, disallowance, disclaimer, recantation, rejection, renouncement, repudiation

CONFESSION Defined for English Language Learners

confession

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noun

Definition of confession for English Language Learners

: 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

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noun con·fes·sion \ kən-ˈfe-shən \

Definition of confession for Students

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

legal Definition of confession

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.