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View synonyms for

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

/ əˈɛʃə /

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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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 .
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Derived Forms

  • DzˈڱDzԲ, adjective
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Other Word Forms

  • cDz·ڱsDz noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of confession1

1350–1400; < Latin DzԴڱō- (stem of DzԴڱō ), equivalent to confess- ( confess ) + -ō- -ion; replacing Middle English confessioun < Anglo-French
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Several queued outside wooden booths, each topped with a sign indicating in which languages the priests inside could hear confessions.

From

“The question is, ‘Was that a coerced confession?’”

From

So, here’s my confession, Father: I’m a Pope Francis fan, and I wish we had more leaders like him.

From

He was found guilty after a two-day trial, and in a final confession said he had accidentally shot Maria during an argument.

From

Framed as a confession by the child of a Frenchman and a Vietnamese woman, the narrator is a double agent with an unforgettable voice recalling Graham Greene and Vladimir Nabokov.

From

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