v.
Pronunciation: k ə n- ' fes
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French confesser, from confés having confessed, from Latin confessus, past participle of confit ē ri to confess, from com- + fat ē ri to confess; akin to Latin fari to speak ― more at BAN
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1 : to tell or make known (as something wrong or damaging to oneself) : ADMIT <he confess ed 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
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>
synonyms see ACKNOWLEDGE
– con · fess · able \ - ' fe-s ə -b ə l \ adjective