confess

Verb

Meaning

To make acknowledgment or avowal in a matter pertaining to one's self; to acknowledge, own, or admit, as a crime, a fault, a debt.

To admit as true; to assent to; to acknowledge, as after a previous doubt, denial, or concealment.

To make known or acknowledge, as one's sins to a priest, in order to receive absolution; -- sometimes followed by the reflexive pronoun.

To hear or receive such confession; -- said of a priest.

To disclose or reveal, as an effect discloses its cause; to prove; to attest.

To make confession; to disclose sins or faults, or the state of the conscience.

To acknowledge; to admit; to concede.

Source: Webster's dictionary

Synonyms

admit acknowledge concede avow fink own recognize grant reveal declare disclose profess divulge squeal unburden
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Antonyms

inter snook cover argue challenge row
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Hypernyms

admit acknowledge

Hyponyms

fess up own up make a clean breast of

Related terms

confessor confession confessional

Phrases with the word

confess to confess all to confess what i confess, i possess

Derivatives

confessed confessing

Examples

The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart. Jerome

We confess to little faults only to persuade ourselves we have no great ones. François de La Rochefoucauld

I confess I do not know why, but looking at the stars always makes me dream. Vincent van Gogh

To deny everything is to confess everything. Spanish Proverb

Confess and be hanged. Portuguese Proverb

To deny all, is to confess all. Spanish Proverb

Close letter words and terms

confervoid confervoid algae confervous confess all confess to confessable