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confession

American  
[kuhn-fesh-uhn] / kənˈfɛʃ ən /

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 British  
/ 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. 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 Cultural  

  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.

Other Word Forms

  • confessionary adjective
  • preconfession noun

Etymology

Origin of confession

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

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.

Racked with torment over her proximity to evil, Hilda makes a desperate confession to a Catholic priest, who happens to be a New Englander.

From The Wall Street Journal

As Chauncey Burr continued a lecture tour west into Cleveland, Ohio, he readied Ruth’s blockbuster confession for release.

From Literature

After buying a $16 entry ticket — no deductible — audience members have the option of scribbling an anonymous confession or a personal dilemma onto a piece of paper before dropping it into a box.

From Los Angeles Times

Moraes said the prosecution's case did not rest solely on Lessa's cooperation and that "various pieces of evidence, depositions, and documents" backed up his confession.

From Barron's

Emerging bluesman Sammie plays a song he wrote as a confession to his pastor father, a paean to the music he loves.

From Los Angeles Times

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.