confirm
Americanverb (used with object)
-
confirms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
confirmed,
past participle, past
-
confirming
present participle
-
to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of; corroborate; verify.
This report confirms my suspicions.
- Synonyms:
- validate, authenticate, substantiate, prove
- Antonyms:
- disprove
-
to acknowledge with definite assurance.
Did the hotel confirm our room reservation?
-
to make valid or binding by some formal or legal act; sanction; ratify.
to confirm a treaty;
to confirm her appointment to the Supreme Court.
- Antonyms:
- invalidate
-
to make firm or more firm; add strength to; settle or establish firmly.
Their support confirmed my determination to run for mayor.
- Synonyms:
- fix
- Antonyms:
- shake
-
to strengthen (a person) in habit, resolution, opinion, etc..
The accident confirmed him in his fear of driving.
-
to administer the religious rite of confirmation to.
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to prove to be true or valid; corroborate; verify
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(may take a clause as object) to assert for a second or further time, so as to make more definite
he confirmed that he would appear in court
-
to strengthen or make more firm
his story confirmed my doubts
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to make valid by a formal act or agreement; ratify
-
to administer the rite of confirmation to
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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confirmabilitynoun
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confirmernoun
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unconfirmabilitynoun
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preconfirmverb (used with object)
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reconfirmverb (used with object)
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unconfirmverb (used with object)
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confirmableadjective
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confirmatoryadjective
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nonconfirmingadjective
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confirminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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confirmsimple
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confirmssimple
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have confirmedperfect
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has confirmedperfect
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am confirmingprogressive
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are confirmingprogressive
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is confirmingprogressive
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have been confirmingperfect progressive
-
has been confirmingperfect progressive
Past
-
confirmedsimple
-
had confirmedperfect
-
was confirmingprogressive
-
were confirmingprogressive
-
had been confirmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of confirm
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin confirmāre “to strengthen, confirm” ( see con-, firm 1); replacing Middle English confermen, from Old French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
When you need to make sure before you leave that you have a reservation, you often call ahead to confirm, that is, to make sure that your tickets or space are set aside for you. The firm in confirm should give you a clue as to the word's meaning: to shore up or verify something. When you make sure something is set, or firm, you confirm it. The word comes from the Latin con- "together, altogether," and firmāre "make firm," so confirm originally meant roughly "to make (something) altogether firm."
Vocabulary lists containing confirm
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 3
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
His lawyer, Jonathan Savella, said he could “neither confirm nor deny” whether his client is cooperating.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Hearn did confirm Matchroom held a meeting with Sela regarding money owed to the organisation for previously agreed contracts.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Carcopino’s text was indeed a popular standard, and even if scholars of ancient slavery have long since abandoned this exculpatory view, any living historian of ancient Rome can confirm that the misjudgment lingers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
More research will be necessary to confirm the findings and determine whether the same mechanism operates in people, but Yu said the work could eventually have implications for inflammatory bowel disease.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
“No, I did not. I only used it to confirm my answer.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
He confirms media reports that leaders from Arizona State, Johns Hopkins, the University of Kansas and Washington University in St. Louis helped draft Ms. McMahon’s call to action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
If future research confirms and expands on that connection, understanding how CRH signaling affects OPCs, myelin formation, and brain development could eventually point toward completely new therapeutic approaches.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Miami-Dade court case database confirms that Hilton’s mother Teresita Lavandeira filed a petition for temporary custody over three minor children on Aug. 7.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
"The missing vultures are almost back. If you go to the marketplace now, you see vultures. At one time they disappeared, but now they are coming back," Igwe confirms.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Zannikos confirms part of the account but says the firing had nothing to do with the scuffle or the ensuing dispute.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Zuckerberg, who is married to Dr. Priscilla Chan and has three children, bought the Strancally Castle in Waterford, Ireland, a spokesman for the tech executive confirmed Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
But the name that keeps rising to the top, and the one CNN itself has now confirmed as the “early favorite,” is Jennings.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
When I sat down with ServiceNow’s longtime chief innovation officer, Dave Wright, he confirmed that.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
But the match allocation has once again come into focus after the schedule for next year's series was confirmed in July.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The doctors confirmed that, despite their hideous appearance, the wounds were not fatal.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Cyborg has hinted her fight with Vieira will be her final MMA bout without confirming she is set to retire.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Her aunt, Monica Singh-Strohmeier, shared a statement on social media confirming that Singh was the victim of the Aug. 13 car accident and asking for privacy for her family during this difficult time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Ateneo de Zamboanga president Father Guillrey Andal, confirming the two fatalities, said the school was "deeply saddened" by the shooting and was cooperating with the investigation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Measurements of this kind could become valuable for independently confirming reactor status and tracking spent-fuel inventories.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
But how can I respond without confirming at least part of the story he’s created?
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
