Definition of CONFIDANT

Synonyms & Antonyms for confidant

Synonyms

Antonyms

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.

Did You Know?

If you're confident of the trustworthiness of your confidants, you're inadvertently aware of the origins of the word confidant. It comes from the French noun confident, which goes back to the Italian adjective confidente, meaning "confident" or "trustworthy" and to the Latin verb confidere, meaning "to confide"—the root of which is fidere, meaning "to trust." Other descendants of confidere in English include confide, confidence,and confident, as well as confidential (which was formed from confidence).

Examples of confidant in a Sentence

He is a trusted confidant of the president. she's my confidant; I tell her everything without reservation

Recent Examples on the Web

Fan favorites like Damian Lewis as Axelrod, Paul Giamatti as Rhodes, Malin Akerman as Lara Axelrod, and Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhodes, Chuck's wife and Axelrod's confidant, return, and guest stars including John Malkovich round out the cast. — The Editors, Town & Country, "Everything We Know So Far About Season 4 of Billions," 20 Dec. 2018 Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett was born in the Iranian city of Shiraz and reportedly led back-channel talks with the Iranians in 2012. — Lee Smith, WSJ, "What if the FBI Had Probed Obama?," 23 Jan. 2019 Stephanie Clifford, arrives at the US District Court of New York for a hearing related to Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney and confidant. — Kainaz Amaria, Vox, "2018, explained in pictures by women and non-binary photographers," 21 Dec. 2018 The crackdown in Harare had led to speculation about whether Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe confidant with close ties to the military, was aware that the army was moving in or was in fact not in full control of the security forces. — Farai Mutsaka, The Seattle Times, "Zimbabwe inquiry finds army, police killed 6 during protest," 19 Dec. 2018 Among the president’s other confidants is Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Et Tu, James? Pruitt’s Friend and Patron Inhofe Gives Him an Ultimatum," 13 June 2018 In the original series, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Sabrina's pet cat and confidant is an animatronic puppet who's hilarious quips and memeable nature pretty much made the show. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Everything We Know About "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" Season 2," 6 Dec. 2018 The Friday article quotes longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone and Sam Nunberg, a former Trump aide who has worked with Cohen and Stone, along with Trump biographers Tim O'Brien and Michael D'Antonio, and Ohio pastor Darrell Scott. — Matt Korade, CNN, "Trump defends Cohen after NYT report," 21 Apr. 2018 The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky have reported this person is Roger Stone, a Trump confidant who served as an outside adviser for the campaign. — Amber Phillips, chicagotribune.com, "6 questions about the indictment of 12 Russians for hacking," 13 July 2018

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