CONFESS


Meaning of CONFESS in English

I. kənˈfes verb

( -ed/-ing/-es )

Etymology: Middle English confessen, from Middle French confesser, from Old French, from confes having confessed, from Latin confessus, past participle of confitēri to confess, from com- + -fitēri (from fatēri to acknowledge, confess); akin to Latin fari to speak — more at ban

transitive verb

1. : to tell of or make known (something private, hidden, or damaging to oneself) : admit , acknowledge

confess an error

he confessed his debt

I confess myself a traditionalist — R.W.Chapman

2.

a. : to make known or acknowledge (one's sins) especially to God or to a priest in order to receive absolution

b. : to relieve (oneself) of the burden of sin by confessing (as to God or a priest)

c. of a priest : to receive the confession of (a penitent) : administer confession to

3. : to admit as true : assent to : acknowledge especially after a previous doubt, denial, or concealment : concede

you know perfectly well you've got a stomach ache, if you'd only confess it — W.F.de Morgan

4. : to acknowledge one's faith in : acknowledge as one's belief : avow

many of the churchgoers and confessed Christians are grossly ignorant of the chief doctrines of their faith — Humanist

5. : to disclose or reveal as an effect discloses its cause : prove , attest , manifest

and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Thy peace — J.G.Whittier

intransitive verb

1.

a. : to disclose one's sins or faults or the state of one's conscience especially to God or to a priest

b. of a priest : to hear confession : shrive

2. : admit , own

confess to a crime

Synonyms: see acknowledge

- confess judgment

II. noun

( -es )

Etymology: probably from confess (I)

: an English country-dance for six persons

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.