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
-
(may take a clause as object) to prove to be true or valid; corroborate; verify
-
(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
-
to make valid by a formal act or agreement; ratify
-
to administer the rite of confirmation to
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
confirmabilitynoun
-
confirmernoun
-
unconfirmabilitynoun
-
preconfirmverb (used with object)
-
reconfirmverb (used with object)
-
unconfirmverb (used with object)
-
confirmableadjective
-
confirmatoryadjective
-
nonconfirmingadjective
-
confirminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
confirmsimple
-
confirmssimple
-
have confirmedperfect
-
has confirmedperfect
-
am confirmingprogressive
-
are confirmingprogressive
-
is confirmingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
To tackle it OpenAI unleashed a swarm of 10,000 artificial-intelligence agents, which took 88 hours to arrive at the result and an additional 17 hours to confirm it via the computerized verification program Lean.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The San Francisco-based AI lab did not confirm their identities, but at least two of the employees worked on safety and alignment, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Researchers believe it may be undescribed, but they need additional specimens before they can confirm its identity.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
Saracens announced in January that Venter would be returning as director of rugby and have yet to publicly confirm any change to his day-to-day responsibilities.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
“The fact that you can hear him at all should confirm it,” Phillip said.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
The record as a whole confirms that Ms. Cyrus’s chaotic throw-everything-at-the-wall approach is far more interesting than when she tries for a succinct exploration of a single genre.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Rams coach Sean McVay confirms Aaron Donald will play Monday against the New York Giants, but star wide receiver Puka Nacua is listed as questionable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Neither study directly confirms or overturns the original Menin results.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
In it, Noel confirms the band is "not a power struggle any more".
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
“When I was observing you, before the selection, I perceived that you probably had the capacity, and what you describe confirms that. It happened somewhat differently to me,” The Giver told him.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
Ethiopian authorities have not confirmed what caused the explosions, and there have been no official reports of casualties or significant damage.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Fewer than a dozen world leaders have so far publicly confirmed that they will attend the meetings in Fiji and Tuvalu, mostly from the Pacific.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
“He has a place somewhere else, more like a vacation place, and he just wants to travel and be closer to his family,” Sarkis confirmed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Our investigation confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures, violating our policies and breaking the trust essential to our work.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
He confirmed that Burger had been in the hands of the Gestapo.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Surely they should be confirming the changes in the calendar now?
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping concluded a pomp-filled summit Friday, with the US leader confirming they would meet twice more this year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
Seyfried, 40, and Sadoski, 50, first met in 2015 before confirming their romance the following year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
However, Autotune or not, “Dine N’Dash” is reminiscent of the best of the band, confirming that they’ve still got the juice to make hits 25 years after their debut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Mami's eyes shifted from one to the other, each cry of Mine! confirming another bad daughter.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
