Confessional Con·fes"sion·al adjective Pertaining to a confession of faith. Confessional equality , equality before the law of persons confessing different creeds.

Confessionalism Con·fes"sion·al·ism noun (Eccl.) An exaggerated estimate of the importance of giving full assent to any particular formula of the Christian faith. Shaff.

Confessionalist Con·fes"sion·al·ist noun A priest hearing, or sitting to hear, confession. [ R.] Boucher

Confessionary Con·fes"sion·a·ry noun [ Late Latin confessionarium .] A confessional. [ Obsolete] Johnson.

Confessionary Con·fes"sion·a·ry adjective Pertaining to auricular confession; as, a confessionary litany.

Confessionist Con·fes"sion·ist noun [ Confer French confessioniste .] One professing a certain faith. Bp. Montagu.

Confessor Con·fess"or noun [ Old French confessor , French confesseur , from Latin & Late Latin confessor .] 1. One who confesses; one who acknowledges a fault, or the truth of a charge, at the risk of suffering; specifically, one who confesses himself a follower of Christ and endures persecution for his faith.

He who dies for religion is a martyr; he who suffers for it is a confessor .
Latham.

Our religion which hath been sealed with the blood of so many martyrs and confessors .
Bacon.

2. A priest who hears the confessions of others and is authorized to grant them absolution.

Confessorship Con·fess"or·ship noun The act or state of suffering persecution for religious faith.

Our duty to contend even to confessorship .
J. H. Newman.

Confestly Con·fest"ly adverb See Cofessedly .

Confetti Con·fet"ti noun plural ; sing. -fetto [ Italian Confer Comfit .] Bonbons; sweetmeats; confections; also, plaster or paper imitations of, or substitutes for, bonbons, often used by carnival revelers, at weddings, etc.

Confidant Con`fi·dant" ; 277) noun masc. , Con`fi*dante" (?; 277) noun fem. [ French confident , confidente , formerly also spelt confidant , confidante . See Confide , and confer Confident .] One to whom secrets, especially those relating to affairs of love, are confided or intrusted; a confidential or bosom friend.

You love me for no other end
Than to become my confidant and friend;
As such I keep no secret from your sight.
Dryden.

Confide Con·fide" intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Confided ; present participle & verbal noun Confiding .] [ Latin confidere ; con- + fidere to trust. See Faith , and confer Affiance .] To put faith ( in ); to repose confidence; to trust; -- usually followed by in ; as, the prince confides in his ministers.

By thy command I rise or fall,
In thy protection I confide .
Byron.

Judge before friendships, then confide till death.
Young.

Confide Con·fide" transitive verb To intrust; to give in charge; to commit to one's keeping; -- followed by to .

Congress may . . . confide to the Circuit jurisdiction of all offenses against the United States.
Story.

Confidence Con"fi·dence noun [ Latin confidentia firm trust in, self-confidence: confer French confidence .] 1. The act of confiding, trusting, or putting faith in; trust; reliance; belief; -- formerly followed by of , now commonly by in .

Society is built upon trust, and trust upon confidence of one another's integrity.
South.

A cheerful confidence in the mercy of God .
Macaulay.

2. That in which faith is put or reliance had.

The Lord shall be thy confidence .
Prov. iii. 26.

3. The state of mind characterized by one's reliance on himself, or his circumstances; a feeling of self-sufficiency; such assurance as leads to a feeling of security; self-reliance; -- often with self prefixed.

Your wisdom is consumed in confidence ;
Do not go forth to-day.
Shak.

But confidence then bore thee on secure
Either to meet no danger, or to find
Matter of glorious trial.
Milton.

4. Private conversation; ( plural ) secrets shared; as, there were confidences between them.

Sir, I desire some confidence with you.
Shak.

Confidence game , any swindling operation in which advantage is taken of the confidence reposed by the victim in the swindler. -- Confidence man , a swindler. -- To take into one's confidence , to admit to a knowledge of one's feelings, purposes, or affairs. Syn. -- Trust; assurance; expectation; hope.

I am confident that very much be done.
Boyle.

2. Trustful; without fear or suspicion; frank; unreserved.

Be confident to speak, Northumberland;
We three are but thyself.
Shak.

3. Having self-reliance; bold; undaunted.

As confident as is the falcon's flight
Against a bird, do I with Mowbray fight.
Shak.

4. Having an excess of assurance; bold to a fault; dogmatical; impudent; presumptuous.

The fool rageth and is confident .
Prov. xiv. 16.

5. Giving occasion for confidence. [ R.]

The cause was more confident than the event was prosperous.
Jer. Taylor.

Confident Con"fi·dent noun See Confidant . South. Dryden.

Confidential Con`fi·den"tial adjective [ Confer French confidentiel .] 1. Enjoying, or treated with, confidence; trusted in; trustworthy; as, a confidential servant or clerk. 2. Communicated in confidence; secret. " Confidential messages." Burke. Confidential communication (Law) See Privileged communication , under Privileged . -- Confidential creditors , those whose claims are of such a character that they are entitled to be paid before other creditors. -- Confidential debts , debts incurred for borrowed money, and regarded as having a claim to be paid before other debts. McElrath.

Confidentially Con`fi·den"tial·ly adverb In confidence; in reliance on secrecy.

Confidently Con"fi·dent·ly adverb With confidence; with strong assurance; positively.

Confidentness Con"fi·dent·ness noun The quality of being confident.

Confider Con·fid"er noun One who confides.

Confiding Con·fid"ing adjective That confides; trustful; unsuspicious. -- Con*fid"ing*ly , adverb -- Con*fid"ing*ness , noun

Configurate Con·fig"ur·ate intransitive verb [ Latin configuratus , past participle of configurare to form or after; con- + figurare to form, figura form. See Figure .] To take form or position, as the parts of a complex structure; to agree with a pattern.

Known by the name of uniformity;
Where pyramids to pyramids relate
And the whole fabric doth configurate .
Jordan.

Configuration Con·fig`u·ra"tion noun [ Latin configuratio .] 1. Form, as depending on the relative disposition of the parts of a thing; shape; figure.

It is the variety of configurations [ of the mouth] . . . which gives birth and origin to the several vowels.
Harris.

2. (Astrol.) Relative position or aspect of the planets; the face of the horoscope, according to the relative positions of the planets at any time.

They [ astrologers] undertook . . . to determine the course of a man's character and life from the configuration of the stars at the moment of his birth.
Whewell.

3. (Chemistry) the spatial arrangement of atoms in a molecule as determined by the covalent bonds between them; the three-dimensional structure that cannot be changed without breaking the covalent bonds between atoms of a molecule. It is distinguished from conformation , which is the exact relative location in space of all of the atoms of a molecule, which may vary at different times or in different environments.
[ PJC] 4. (Computers) a specification of the parts of a computer system, consisting of the essential components of the computer plus the complete set of all internal and external devices directly attached to it; as, by the year 2000, a microcomputer configuration without a CD-ROM or DVD drive will be unsalable.
[ PJC]

Configure Con·fig"ure transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Configured ; present participle & verbal noun Configuring .] [ Latin configurare : confer French configurer . See Configurate .] To arrange or dispose in a certain form, figure, or shape. Bentley.

Confinable Con·fin"a·ble adjective Capable of being confined, restricted, or limited.

Not confinable to any limits.
Bp. Hall.

Confine Con·fine" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Confined ; present participle & verbal noun Confining .] [ French confiner to border upon, Late Latin confinare to set bounds to; con- + finis boundary, end. See Final , Finish .] To restrain within limits; to restrict; to limit; to bound; to shut up; to inclose; to keep close.

Now let not nature's hand
Keep the wild flood confined ! let order die!
Shak.

He is to confine himself to the compass of numbers and the slavery of rhyme.
Dryden.

To be confined , to be in childbed. Syn. -- To bound; limit; restrain; imprison; immure; inclose; circumscribe; restrict.

Confine Con"fine intransitive verb To have a common boundary; to border; to lie contiguous; to touch; -- followed by on or with . [ Obsolete]

Where your gloomy bounds
Confine with heaven.
Milton.

Bewixt heaven and earth and skies there stands a place.
Confining on all three.
Dryden.

Confine Con"fine noun 1. Common boundary; border; limit; -- used chiefly in the plural.

Events that came to pass within the confines of Judea.
Locke.

And now in little space
The confines met of empyrean heaven,
And of this world.
Milton.

On the confines of the city and the Temple.
Macaulay.

2. Apartment; place of restraint; prison. [ Obsolete]

Confines , wards, and dungeons.
Shak.

The extravagant and erring spirit hies
To his confine .
Shak.

Confineless Con"fine`less adjective Without limitation or end; boundless. Shak.

Confinement Con·fine"ment noun 1. Restraint within limits; imprisonment; any restraint of liberty; seclusion.

The mind hates restraint, and is apt to fancy itself under confinement when the sight is pent up.
Addison.

2. Restraint within doors by sickness, esp. that caused by childbirth; lying-in.

Confiner Con·fin"er noun One who, or that which, limits or restrains.

Confiner Con"fi`ner noun One who lives on confines, or near the border of a country; a borderer; a near neighbor. [ Obsolete] Bacon.

Happy confiners you of other lands,
That shift your soil, and oft 'scape tyrants' hands.
Daniel.

Confinity Con·fin"i·ty noun [ Confer French confinité .] Community of limits; contiguity. [ R.] Bailey.

Confirm Con·firm" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Confrmed ; present participle & verbal noun Confirming .] [ Middle English confermen , confirmen , Old French confermer , French confirmer , from Latin confirmare ; con- + firmare to make firm, from firmus firm. See Firm .] 1. To make firm or firmer; to add strength to; to establish; as, health is confirmed by exercise.

Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs.
Shak.

And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law.
Ps. cv. 10.

2. To strengthen in judgment or purpose.

Confirmed , then, I resolve
Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe.
Milton.

3. To give new assurance of the truth of; to render certain; to verify; to corroborate; as, to confirm a rumor.

Your eyes shall witness and confirm my tale.
Pope.

These likelihoods confirm her flight.
Shak.

4. To render valid by formal assent; to complete by a necessary sanction; to ratify; as, to confirm the appoinment of an official; the Senate confirms a treaty.

That treaty so prejudicial ought to have been remitted rather than confimed .
Swift.

5. (Eccl.) To administer the rite of confirmation to. See Confirmation , 3.

Those which are thus confirmed are thereby supposed to be fit for admission to the sacrament.
Hammond.

Syn. -- To strengthen; corroborate; substantiate; establish; fix; ratify; settle; verify; assure.

Confirmable Con·firm"a·ble adjective That may be confirmed.

Confirmance Con·firm"ance noun Confirmation. [ Obsolete]

Confirmation Con`fir·ma"tion noun [ French confirmation , Latin confirmatio .] 1. The act of confirming or strengthening; the act of establishing, ratifying, or sanctioning; as, the confirmation of an appointment.

Their blood is shed
In confirmation of the noblest claim.
Cowper.

2. That which confirms; that which gives new strength or assurance; as to a statement or belief; additional evidence; proof; convincing testimony.

Trifles light as air
Are to the jealous confirmations strong
As proofs of holy writ.
Shak.

3. (Eccl.) A rite supplemental to baptism, by which a person is admitted, through the laying on of the hands of a bishop, to the full privileges of the church, as in the Roman Catholic, the Episcopal Church, etc.

This ordinance is called confirmation , because they who duly receive it are confirmed or strengthened for the fulfillment of their Christian duties, by the grace therein bestowed upon them.
Hook.

4. (Law) A conveyance by which a voidable estate is made sure and not voidable, or by which a particular estate is increased; a contract, express or implied, by which a person makes that firm and binding which was before voidable.

Confirmative Con·firm"a·tive adjective [ Latin confirmativus : confer French confirmatif .] Tending to confirm or establish. Sherwood. -- Con*firm"a*tive*ly , adverb

Confirmator Con"fir·ma`tor noun [ Latin ] One who, or that which, confirms; a confirmer. Sir T. Browne.

Confirmatory Con·firm"a·to·ry adjective . Serving to confirm; corroborative.

A fact confirmatory of the conclusion.
I. Taylor.

2. Pertaining to the rite of confirmation. Compton.

Confirmedly Con·firm"ed·ly adverb With confirmation.

Confirmedness Con·firm"ed·ness noun A fixed state.

Confirmee Con`fir·mee" noun [ French confirmé , past participle of confirmer .] (Law) One to whom anything is confirmed.

Confirmer Con·firm"er noun One who, or that which, confirms, establishes, or ratifies; one who corroborates. Shak.

Confirmingly Con·firm"ing·ly adverb In a confirming manner.

Confiscable Con·fis"ca·ble adjective [ Confer French confiscable .] Capable of being confiscated; liable to forfeiture.

Confiscate Con"fis·cate adjective [ Latin confiscatus , past participle of confiscare to confiscate, prop., to lay up in a chest; con- + fiscus basket, purse, treasury. See Fiscal .] Seized and appropriated by the government to the public use; forfeited.

Lest that your goods too soon be confiscate .
Shak.

Confiscate Con"fis·cate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Confiscated ; present participle & verbal noun Confiscating .] To seize as forfeited to the public treasury; to appropriate to the public use.

It was judged that he should be banished and his whole estate confiscated and seized.
Bacon.

Confiscation Con`fis·ca"tion noun [ Latin confiscatio .] The act or process of taking property or condemning it to be taken, as forfeited to the public use.

The confiscations following a subdued rebellion.
Hallam.

Confiscator Con"fis·ca`tor noun [ Latin , a treasurer.] One who confiscates. Burke.