confession

[ kuhn-fesh-uhn ]

noun

1. acknowledgment; avowal; admission:

   a confession of incompetence.

2. acknowledgment or disclosure of sin or sinfulness, especially to a priest to obtain absolution.
3. something that is confessed.
4. a formal, usually written, acknowledgment of guilt by a person accused of a crime.
5. Also called confession of faith. a formal profession of belief and acceptance of doctrines, as before being admitted to church membership.
6. the tomb of a martyr or confessor or the altar or shrine connected with it.

confession

/ kənˈfɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of confessing
2. something confessed
3. an acknowledgment or declaration, esp of one's faults, misdeeds, or crimes
4. Christianity RC Church the act of a penitent accusing himself or herself of his or her sins
5. confession of faith
   a formal public avowal of religious beliefs
6. a religious denomination or sect united by a common system of beliefs

confession

1. In some church es, notably the Roman Catholic Church , a sacrament in which repentant sinners individually or as a group privately confess their sins in front of a priest and receive absolution from the guilt of their sins. In the first few centuries of Christianity , repentant sinners were assigned public penances: sinners had to stay outside the entrance of the church and ask the people going inside to pray for them. The period of public penance could be shortened through an indulgence .

Derived Forms

• conˈfessionary, adjective

Other Words From

• precon·fession noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of confession¹

1350–1400; < Latin confessiōn- (stem of confessiō ), equivalent to confess- ( confess ) + -iōn- -ion; replacing Middle English confessioun < Anglo-French

Example Sentences

Iris takes an oddball approach to acclimating her students to French: She extracts personal confessions from them in English, then writes wildly extrapolated versions of the French on index cards.

From New York Times

He could have been released after six and a half years if he had given a false confession - something he has said he was never willing to do.

From BBC

Jurors were previously told Mr Sharif’s case was that Ms Batool was responsible for Sara’s death, and he made a false confession in a phone call and also in a note to protect his wife.

From BBC

Jurors were previously told Mr Sharif's case was that Ms Batool was responsible for Sara's death, and he made a false confession in a phone call and also in a note to protect his wife.

From BBC

Jurors were told Mr Sharif's case was that Ms Batool was responsible for Sara's death, and he made a false confession in a phone call and also in a note to protect his wife.

From BBC

Related Words

• acknowledgment
• admission
• assertion
• concession
• disclosure
• proclamation
• revelation
• statement
• story