confirm

verb con·firm \ kən-ˈfərm \

|Updated on: 16 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: confirm in a Sentence

Definition of confirm

confirmed; confirming; confirms

transitive verb

1 : to give approval to : ratify

confirm a treaty

2 : to make firm or firmer : strengthen

confirm one's resolve

3 : to administer the rite of confirmation to

4 : to give new assurance of the validity of : remove doubt about by authoritative act or indisputable fact

confirm a rumor

confirm an order

—

confirmability

play \kən-ˌfər-mə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

—

confirmable

play \kən-ˈfər-mə-bəl\ adjective

See confirm defined for English-language learners

See confirm defined for kids

Examples of confirm in a Sentence

The tests confirmed the doctors' suspicions of cancer.
The attack confirmed her worst fears about the neighborhood.
The award confirmed her status as one of the great movie actresses.
The dentist's office called to confirm your appointment for tomorrow.
We have a reservation for you for tomorrow night. Please call to confirm.

Recent Examples of confirm from the Web

The Bulls are on the verge of signing Simeon product and Bucks forward Jabari Parker, a source confirmed.

— k.c. johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Bulls on the verge of signing Jabari Parker," 13 July 2018
The United Kingdom has invited independent chemical-weapons experts to visit next week and independently confirm the nerve agent suspected in the case.

— bart jansen, USA TODAY, "British police identify source of Russian nerve agent that killed woman," 13 July 2018
There was that time last March when star Jeremy Swift revealed that the cast had been sent a script that suddenly disappeared, and then last June when NBCUniversal International Studios confirmed the film...but forgot to tell the cast.

— kathryn lindsay, refinery29.com, "The Downton Abbey Movie Is Finally Happening & All Your Favorite Characters Are Back," 13 July 2018
Levine said in the full-size pickup segment, not counting midsize pickups, Ford has a 39 percent market share, which Kelley Blue Book confirms.

— jamie l. lareau, Detroit Free Press, "General Motors topping Ford in pickup market share," 12 July 2018
Still, confirming the implications of the event beneath the Polar ice became a massive task of assembling observations and evidence.

— mark johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Blazing a trail: UW professor's dream leads to breakthrough in identifying origin of cosmic rays," 12 July 2018
In 2013, for example, IceCube made the first-ever confirmed detection of neutrinos from beyond the Milky Way galaxy.

— mike wall, NBC News, "High-energy 'ghost particle' traced to distant galaxy in astronomy breakthrough," 12 July 2018
The official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the conversation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, was confirming a detail first reported by The Telegraph.

— katie rogers, New York Times, "British Roll Out Trump’s Political Idol: Winston Churchill," 12 July 2018
The 32-year-old posted a text message conversation with Dr. Dre just last week (July 6), confirming the West Coast legend's involvement with the project.

— michael saponara, Billboard, "Dr. Dre Has Started Mixing Anderson .Paak's New Album," 12 July 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of confirm

Middle English, from Anglo-French cunfermer, from Latin confirmare, from com- + firmare to make firm, from firmus firm

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

confirm Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of confirm

confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify, authenticate, validate mean to attest to the truth or validity of something. confirm implies the removing of doubts by an authoritative statement or indisputable fact.

- confirmed the reports

corroborate suggests the strengthening of what is already partly established.

- witnesses corroborated his story

substantiate implies the offering of evidence that sustains the contention.

- the claims have yet to be substantiated

verify implies the establishing of correspondence of actual facts or details with those proposed or guessed at.

- all statements of fact in the article have been verified

authenticate implies establishing genuineness by adducing legal or official documents or expert opinion.

- handwriting experts authenticated the diaries

validate implies establishing validity by authoritative affirmation or by factual proof.

- validated the hypothesis by experiments

CONFIRM Defined for English Language Learners

confirm

verb

Definition of confirm for English Language Learners

: to state or show that (something) is true or correct
: to tell someone that something has definitely happened or is going to happen : to make (something) definite or official
: to make (something) stronger or more certain : to cause (someone) to believe (something) more strongly