Confess: Admitting Something You Would Rather Not
To confess is to admit something you are ashamed of or that counts against you. It works in law, in religion and in small everyday admissions.
Confess means to admit something damaging about yourself. The word will not stretch to admissions that cost you nothing: you can confess to a mistake, but confessing to being helpful would be a joke, and English hears it as one.
- To admit a fault or crime. *He confessed to the theft.*
- To admit reluctantly. *I confess I had forgotten.*
- To make a religious confession. *She went to confess.*
- To declare a faith. *Confessing Christians.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | confess | Confess everything. |
| Noun | confession | A signed confession. |
| Place | confessional | The confessional box. |
| Adjective | confessed | A self-confessed fan. |
| Adjective | confessional | Confessional poetry. |
How it is used in a sentence
- He confessed to the crime after two days.Confess to something.
- She confessed that she had never read it.Confess that plus a clause.
- I must confess I was surprised.A softening phrase, admitting almost nothing.
Confess, admit, own up and concede
- Confess — admit something shameful or criminal
- Admit — accept a fact, damaging or not
- Own up — informal, and usually about a small fault
- Concede — accept a point in an argument or a defeat
- Disclose — reveal information that was hidden, with no fault implied
From Latin *confiteri*, to acknowledge, from *com* and *fateri*, to admit. The same root gives profess and confession, and the Latin sense of speaking openly sits under all of them.
Confess to or confess?
Both. Confess a crime takes a direct object; confess to a crime is at least as common and slightly softer.
What is confessional writing?
Poetry or prose drawing openly on the author's private life, associated with poets such as Plath and Lowell.