confirmation

noun con·fir·ma·tion \ ˌkän-fər-ˈmā-shən \

Definition of confirmation

1 :an act or process of confirming: such as

a (1) :a Christian rite conferring the gift of the Holy Spirit and among Protestants full church membership

(2) :a ceremony especially of Reform Judaism confirming youths in their faith

b :the ratification of an executive act by a legislative body

the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee

2 a :confirming proof :corroboration

found confirmation of a theory

The report needed confirmation.

b :the process of supporting a statement by evidence

—

confirmational

play \ˌkän-fər-ˈmā-shnəl, -shə-nᵊl\ adjective

See confirmation defined for English-language learners

See confirmation defined for kids

Examples of confirmation in a Sentence

Reporters awaited confirmation from the army about the battle.
We don't have independent confirmation of the facts.
Final confirmation came only after the investigation was completed.
You will receive an e-mail confirmation of your order.
You will receive confirmation of your order by e-mail.
Many senators are opposed to his confirmation as a federal judge.

Recent Examples of confirmation from the Web

Please include phone number and email address for confirmation.

— Naperville Sun, "Letters to the editor: Support Naperville's Carillon," 25 Aug. 2017
During his confirmation process, Mnuchin was scrutinized for failing to disclose the full scope of his financial assets.

— katie rogers, The Seattle Times, "Treasury secretary’s wife goes from the lap of luxury to the center of a social-media storm," 23 Aug. 2017
The election of Trump, and DeVos’s confirmation, has effectively made school choice into national policy.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Are Arizona’s Defunded Public Schools the Future of American Education?," 21 Aug. 2017
Peterlin is a former Commerce Department and congressional aide with a law degree who helped draft the Patriot Act and shepherded Tillerson through his Senate confirmation.

— abigail tracy, The Hive, "Is Rex Tillerson Destroying the State Department in Order to Save It?," 20 Aug. 2017
The Blacklist (NBC) How will last season's big reveal—OK, confirmation—that James Spader's Raymond Reddington is Liz Keen's (Megan Boone) father effect things now?

— whitney friedlander, Esquire, "Fall TV Preview: Your Complete Guide to the Season's Premieres," 4 Aug. 2017
President Donald Trump makes nominations for Cabinet secretaries and other key posts subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

— dan nowicki, azcentral, "How Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake voted on Trump nominees," 1 Aug. 2017
Secretary of Defense James Mattis was asked about this issue during his confirmation hearings and consistently expressed support for retaining the current policy.

— anonymous, Harper's BAZAAR, "There Is No Valid Reason to Ban Trans People from the Military," 28 July 2017
Two previous nominees, businessman Vincent Viola and Tennessee State Sen. Mark Green, both withdrew from consideration before confirmation hearings.

— leada gore, AL.com, "Raytheon VP to be nominated as Army Secretary," 19 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of confirmation

see confirm

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

confirmation Synonyms

Synonyms

attestation, proof, corroboration, documentation, evidence, substantiation, testament, testimonial, testimony, validation, voucher, witness

Antonyms

disproof

Related Words

(the) goods; certificate, document, exhibit; demonstration, illustration; authentication, identification, manifestation, verification

Near Antonyms

rebuttal, refutation; accusation, allegation, charge; assumption, conjecture, guess, presumption, surmise, suspicion

CONFIRMATION Defined for English Language Learners

confirmation

noun

Definition of confirmation for English Language Learners

: proof which shows that something is true or correct
: a response which shows that information is received and understood; especially : a response that makes a purchase, appointment, etc., definite or official
: the act of giving official approval to something or someone

CONFIRMATION Defined for Kids

confirmation

noun con·fir·ma·tion \ ˌkän-fər-ˈmā-shən \

Definition of confirmation for Students

1 :an act of ensuring the truth of, strengthening, or approving

2 :a religious ceremony admitting a person to full privileges in a church or synagogue

3 :something that ensures the truth of, strengthens, or approves

He received a confirmation of his order.

Law Dictionary

confirmation

noun con·fir·ma·tion \ ˌkän-fər-ˈmā-shən \

legal Definition of confirmation

1 :the act or process of confirming, assuring, or upholding

seeking confirmation of the agreement

; specifically :the ratification of an executive act by a legislative body

senate confirmation of the Supreme Court nominee

2 :something that confirms: as

a :an express or implied contract by which a person makes a voidable agreement binding; specifically :a definite expression or written memorandum that verifies or substantiates an agreement previously made orally or informally

b in the civil law of Louisiana :a declaration whereby a person corrects the parts of an obligation that are null to make them enforceable

c :a conveyance by which valid title to an estate is transferred to a person already in possession or by which an estate is increased