If you're confident of the trustworthiness of your confidants, you're tuned into the origins of the word confidant. The word comes, via French, from the Italian confidente, meaning "trusting, having trust in," from Latin confīdere, meaning "to put one’s trust in, have confidence in.” Other descendants of confīdere in English include confide, confidence, confident, and confidential, all of which ultimately have Latin fīdere, meaning "to trust (in), rely (on)," as their root. Confidant (and its variant confidante, used especially of a woman) and confident are often confused, a topic about which we have plenty to say.
Did you know?
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.
He is a trusted confidant of the president.
she's my confidant; I tell her everything without reservation
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.
Once a contestant himself on the popular franchise — appearing on season 12 of The Bachelorette and season 3 of BiP — Adams has been the bartender (and a confidant to cast members) since 2017.—Liza Esquibias, People.com, 3 July 2025 Hooker was even captured on an FBI wiretap bragging about the arrangement with Michael McClain, Madigan’s longtime confidant who was also convicted at trial.—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2025 Polk has been an advisor and confidant to Jordan since the 1990s and served as vice chairman of Charlotte Hornets Sports & Entertainment when Jordan was the team’s majority owner.—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 24 June 2025 Young was a strategist and confidant for Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement.—Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for confidant
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from French confident, borrowed from Italian confidente, noun derivative of confidente "trusting, having trust in," borrowed from Latin confīdent-, confīdens, present participle of confīdere "to put one's trust in, have confidence in" — more at confide
Share