confirm
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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:
“Following our constructive engagement with Anthropic, we can confirm that the EU’s cybersecurity agency Enisa has been granted access to Mythos 5,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said on Thursday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
If future studies confirm the findings in people, targeting PCSK9 with polypurine hairpins could eventually add another tool to the growing range of treatments designed to lower LDL cholesterol and protect cardiovascular health.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
But in 2023, Seoul's unification minister said that the government was "unable to confirm" the existence of the son.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
If your company has recently switched providers, log in or call to confirm what’s currently on file.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
The Mona Lisa is so popular today it can hardly be seen: a visitor to the Louvre is lucky to get close enough to catch a glimpse, to confirm that it exists.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
The story mostly confirms what we already knew: Things aren’t going well.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
"But, it really confirms that this was, in a way, a doomed approach," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Chavez-DeRemer’s attorney told the Washington Post: “The moot report confirms that Secretary Chavez-DeRemer did not violate any laws.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Seven years after being announced as Marvel’s vampire hunter, two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali confirms he is no longer attached to the long-delayed ‘Blade’ reboot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The book confirms the connection between Atzerodt and Booth.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
She confirmed her engagement to Polansky at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where she was said to have introduced him to then-French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
The oil and gas tanker operator’s fleet expansion is running ahead of the brokerage’s base case with 16 confirmed by 3Q.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
ITV also confirmed earlier reports that singer Cheryl and rapper Aitch will join the The Voice as coaches, sitting in the show's famous giant red chairs.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Of course, once an independent coroner from New Jersey confirmed what Zadroga and his family had said all along, Bloomberg apologized.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
When the diagnosis was confirmed, he was forcibly quarantined in a hastily erected tent in a marsh along the Potomac River.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
“Last week’s payroll numbers were stronger than expected, confirming markets’ hawkish bias for the upcoming Fed meeting,” ING senior rates strategists Benjamin Schroeder and Michiel Tukker say in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The announcement about the next film's producers referred to keeping Bond's spirit alive "as he embarks on his next adventure", seemingly confirming that Bond would remain male.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Hom also leads precursor observing programs with ground-based telescopes, work that is essential for confirming which targets should be selected for future Roman science programs.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
Addressing Macron, he added: "Thank you for confirming your readiness to provide licenses for the production of missiles."
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Twenty-four hours after the deed, my mother’s body temperature rose another two tenths, confirming ovulation.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
