confessed; confessing; confesses
1
: to tell or make known (something, such as something wrong or damaging to oneself) : admit
he confessed his guilt
2
a
: to acknowledge (sin) to God or to a priest
b
: to receive the confession of (a penitent)
3
: to declare faith in or adherence to : profess
4
: to give evidence of
Breeze, bird, and flower confess the hour …—
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott1
a
: to disclose one's faults
specifically
: to unburden one's sins or the state of one's conscience to God or to a priest
b
: to hear a confession
Examples of confess in a Sentence
He confessed after being questioned for many hours.
He willingly confessed his crime.
I have to confess that I was afraid at first.
I confessed my sins to the priest.
Recent Examples on the Web
In the first episode, Carmichael confessed to having a crush on his longtime friend, Tyler, the Creator (who later laughed off his confession and declined his invite to the 2022 Emmys).
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2024
As for whether he's accomplished his dreams, Fox confessed that his aspirations have since changed with time.
—Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Smith confessed to his roommate and a neighbor before his arrest, according to their testimony at his trial.
—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
At Seattle’s Edgewater Hotel, Grant encountered a hotel manager who confessed to envying the rock guests who could vent their frustrations by trashing their rooms.
—Andrew O’Hagan, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Officials said Davis confessed to his role in the Shakur homicide in 2008 to detectives on a joint federal-LA task force.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 30 Mar. 2024
Some threads the series takes up are new: Getting ghosted after confessing his feelings to someone.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
The plea comes after Comanche in December confessed to kidnapping and killing Rodgers with Harnden and then led detectives to where Rodgers’ body was buried, according to police.
—Cindy Von Quednow, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Manning, a former US Army intelligence analyst, confessed during a court martial in 2013 to leaking more than 725,000 documents to WikiLeaks, though her conviction pertains only to portions of hundreds of documents.
—Dell Cameron Matt Burgess, WIRED, 26 Mar. 2024
Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2024
As for whether he's accomplished his dreams, Fox confessed that his aspirations have since changed with time.
—Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Smith confessed to his roommate and a neighbor before his arrest, according to their testimony at his trial.
—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
At Seattle’s Edgewater Hotel, Grant encountered a hotel manager who confessed to envying the rock guests who could vent their frustrations by trashing their rooms.
—Andrew O’Hagan, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Officials said Davis confessed to his role in the Shakur homicide in 2008 to detectives on a joint federal-LA task force.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 30 Mar. 2024
Some threads the series takes up are new: Getting ghosted after confessing his feelings to someone.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
The plea comes after Comanche in December confessed to kidnapping and killing Rodgers with Harnden and then led detectives to where Rodgers’ body was buried, according to police.
—Cindy Von Quednow, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Manning, a former US Army intelligence analyst, confessed during a court martial in 2013 to leaking more than 725,000 documents to WikiLeaks, though her conviction pertains only to portions of hundreds of documents.
—Dell Cameron Matt Burgess, WIRED, 26 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'confess.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near confess
Cite this Entry
“Confess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confess. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
confess
verb
con·fess
kən-ˈfes 
1
: to make known (as something wrong)
2
a
: to admit one's sins to God or to a priest
b
: to hear the confession of
the priest confessed the penitents
Legal Definition
confess
transitive verb
con·fess
kən-ˈfes
: to admit (as a charge or allegation) as true, proven, or valid
unless you answer, the petition shall be taken as confessed
: to make a confession
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