con ‧ fi ‧ dence S2 W2 /ˈkɒnfəd ə ns, ˈkɒnfɪd ə ns $ ˈkɑːn-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ confidence , ↑ confidant , ↑ confidentiality ; adverb : ↑ confidently , ↑ confidentially ; adjective : ↑ confident , ↑ confidential ; verb : ↑ confide ]
1 . FEELING SOMEBODY/SOMETHING IS GOOD [uncountable] the feeling that you can trust someone or something to be good, work well, or produce good results
confidence in
Public confidence in the government is at an all-time low.
She had complete confidence in the doctors.
Opinion polls show that voters have lost confidence in the administration.
2 . BELIEF IN YOURSELF [uncountable] the belief that you have the ability to do things well or deal with situations successfully
confidence in
I didn’t have any confidence in myself.
confidence to do something
Good training will give a beginner the confidence to enjoy skiing.
I felt I was doing well and my confidence began to grow.
with confidence
Our goal is to prepare students to go into the business world with confidence.
3 . FEELING SOMETHING IS TRUE [uncountable] the feeling that something is definite or true
say/speak/predict etc with confidence
How can anyone say with confidence that the recession is over?
confidence in
I have complete confidence in Mr Wright’s analysis of the situation.
have confidence (that)
I have every confidence that the job will be completed satisfactorily on time.
4 . KEEP INFORMATION SECRET [uncountable] if you tell someone something in confidence, you tell them something on the understanding that they will not tell anyone else ⇨ confide
in confidence
I’ll tell you about Moira – in confidence, of course.
in strict/the strictest confidence
Any information given during the interview will be treated in the strictest confidence.
breach of confidence (=when someone tells someone something that they were told in confidence)
Lawyers are satisfied that no breach of confidence took place.
5 . take somebody into your confidence to tell someone your secrets or private or personal details about your life:
Elsa took me into her confidence and told me about some of the problems she was facing.
6 . A SECRET [countable] a secret or a piece of information that is private or personal
share/exchange confidences
They spent their evenings drinking wine and sharing confidences.
I have never betrayed a confidence.
⇨ ↑ vote of confidence , ↑ vote of no confidence
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ verbs
▪ have confidence in somebody/something
The people no longer have any confidence in their government.
▪ lose confidence in somebody/something
Employees are losing confidence in the company.
▪ gain/win sb’s confidence
As team captain, he soon won the confidence of the players.
▪ inspire confidence (=make people have confidence)
Our education system should inspire public confidence.
▪ restore confidence (=make people have confidence again)
Interest rate reductions would restore business confidence.
▪ boost confidence (=make people have more confidence)
The government is keen to boost consumer confidence and spending.
▪ shake sb’s confidence (=make them have less confidence)
The stock market fall has shaken the confidence of investors.
▪ undermine/damage/weaken sb’s confidence (=make someone have less confidence)
The situation in the US was undermining foreign confidence in the dollar.
▪ destroy/shatter confidence in somebody/something
A further crisis has destroyed public confidence in the bank.
■ phrases
▪ have every/complete/absolute confidence in somebody/something
A manager must be able to have complete confidence in his staff.
▪ a lack of confidence
the public’s lack of confidence in the National Health Service
▪ a crisis of confidence (=a situation in which people no longer trust a government, system etc)
the crisis of confidence over food safety
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + confidence
▪ public confidence
The changes should improve public confidence in the system.
▪ consumer confidence (=that ordinary people have when the economic situation is good)
Consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest for two years.
▪ business confidence (=that businesses have when the economic situation is good)
The region has gained 46,000 jobs and business confidence is high.
▪ investor confidence (=that investors have when the economic situation is good)
A fall in the value of shares damages investor confidence.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ verbs
▪ have confidence
Young teenagers often don’t have a lot of confidence.
▪ be full of confidence
The team are full of confidence.
▪ brim with confidence (=be full of it)
Clive walked into the room, brimming with confidence as usual.
▪ exude/radiate confidence (=show it in a very noticeable way)
As the leader, you have to exude confidence and authority.
▪ lack/be lacking in confidence
She lacked the confidence to talk to people.
▪ lose (your) confidence
He’d been out of work for six months and had lost all his confidence.
▪ give somebody confidence
I had really good teachers who gave me a lot of confidence in myself.
▪ gain confidence ( also grow/gain in confidence ) (=become more confident)
Paul did well in the job and gained a lot of confidence.
▪ boost/increase sb’s confidence (=make someone feel more confident)
One of my stories was published, which really boosted my confidence.
▪ build up sb’s confidence (=gradually increase it)
When you’ve had an accident, it takes a while to build up your confidence again.
▪ undermine sb’s confidence (=gradually reduce it)
His constant criticism was undermining my confidence.
▪ dent/shake sb’s confidence (=make it less strong)
A bad experience like that can dent your confidence.
▪ destroy/shatter sb’s confidence
When she failed her degree, it shattered her confidence.
▪ sb’s confidence grows/increases
Since she started her new school, her confidence has grown a lot.
■ nouns
▪ a confidence boost
They offered me the job immediately, which was a real confidence boost.
▪ confidence building (=making it develop)
Training for a big match is all about confidence building.
■ phrases
▪ a lack of confidence
She had always suffered from insecurity and a lack of confidence.
▪ a loss of confidence
As people age, they may suffer from a loss of confidence.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ confidence the feeling that you have the ability to do things well, and to not make mistakes or be nervous in new situations:
You need patience and confidence to be a good teacher.
| have the confidence to do something :
‘We have the confidence to beat Brazil,’ said Sampson.
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After the accident it took a long time before she had the confidence to get back in a car again.
| full of confidence (=very confident) :
I went into the test full of confidence, but it was more difficult than I had imagined.
▪ self-confidence a strong belief that you can do things well and that other people will like you, which means you behave confidently in most situations:
He’s new in the job but he has plenty of self-confidence.
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Studies show that girls tend to lose some of their self-confidence in their teenage years.
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Students who get some kind of work experience develop greater self-confidence and better communication skills.
▪ morale the level of confidence, satisfaction, and hope that people feel, especially a group of people who work together: low/high morale :
Morale among the soldiers has been low.
| keep up morale (=keep it at a high level) :
They sang songs to keep up their morale until the rescuers arrived.
▪ assurance/self-assurance a feeling of calm confidence in your own abilities, especially because you have a lot of experience:
She envied the older woman’s assurance.
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Danby spoke to the committee with the self-assurance of an expert.
▪ self-esteem the feeling that you are someone who deserves to be liked and respected:
Getting a job did a lot for her self-esteem.
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Sports should build a child’s self-esteem, not damage it.