confess

verb

con·​fess kən-ˈfes How to pronounce confess (audio)
confessed; confessing; confesses

transitive verb

1
: to tell or make known (something, such as something wrong or damaging to oneself) : admit
he confessed his guilt
2
a
: to acknowledge (sin) to God or to a priest
b
: to receive the confession of (a penitent)
3
: to declare faith in or adherence to : profess
4
: to give evidence of
Breeze, bird, and flower confess the hour …Sir Walter Scott

intransitive verb

1
a
: to disclose one's faults
specifically : to unburden one's sins or the state of one's conscience to God or to a priest
b
: to hear a confession
2
: admit, own
confess to a crime
confessable adjective
Choose the Right Synonym for confess

acknowledge, admit, own, avow, confess mean to disclose against one's will or inclination.

acknowledge implies the disclosing of something that has been or might be concealed.

acknowledged an earlier peccadillo

admit implies reluctance to disclose, grant, or concede and refers usually to facts rather than their implications.

admitted the project was over budget

own implies acknowledging something in close relation to oneself.

must own I know little about computers

avow implies boldly declaring, often in the face of hostility, what one might be expected to be silent about.

avowed that he was a revolutionary

confess may apply to an admission of a weakness, failure, omission, or guilt.

confessed a weakness for sweets

Examples of confess in a Sentence

He confessed after being questioned for many hours. He willingly confessed his crime. I have to confess that I was afraid at first. I confessed my sins to the priest.
Recent Examples on the Web Prosecutors said the teen also confessed in an interview with police. The Enquirer, 13 Mar. 2024 After the lecture, Goodwin confessed to me that his earlier argument—that Kenya is closer to the origins of the West than America is—was a bit of a stretch. Emma Green, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Police interviewed Harding, who allegedly confessed to drowning the boy in a hotel bathtub in Bloomington on Feb. 28, according to the complaint, per KSTP-TV. Christine Pelisek, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 Haakon likewise acknowledged that Oppenheimer came to him in 1946 to confess his complete disillusionment with the communist cause. TIME, 8 Mar. 2024 Then, before stepping inside a classroom of shocked kids who collectively gasped with shock and excitement upon her arrival, Dua confessed that one nearly 20-year-old memory still haunts her. Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024 Several members of the group had already been arrested and confessed. Alma Guillermoprieto, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Both told the court that Price had come to them and confessed to murdering his children. Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024 That crime went unsolved until Creech later confessed while in custody in Idaho; he wasn't convicted until 1980. CBS News, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'confess.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English confessen "to admit, confess, (of a priest) hear a confession," borrowed from Anglo-French confesser (also continental Old French), derivative of confés "confessed, shriven," going back to Latin confessus, past participle of confiteor, confitērī "to admit (a fact, the truth of a statement or charge), reveal," from con- con- + fateor, fatērī "to accept as true, acknowledge, profess," probably a verbal derivative based on Indo-European *bhh2-to- "spoken" or *bhh2-t- "who speaks," from the verbal base *bheh2- "speak, say," whence also Latin for, fārī "to speak, say" — more at ban entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of confess was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near confess

Cite this Entry

“Confess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confess. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

confess

verb
con·​fess kən-ˈfes How to pronounce confess (audio)
1
: to make known (as something wrong)
2
a
: to admit one's sins to God or to a priest
b
: to hear the confession of
the priest confessed the penitents

Legal Definition

confess

transitive verb
con·​fess kən-ˈfes How to pronounce confess (audio)
: to admit (as a charge or allegation) as true, proven, or valid
unless you answer, the petition shall be taken as confessed

intransitive verb

: to make a confession
confessor noun

More from Merriam-Webster on confess

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