confessverb [ I or T ]
uk/kənˈfes/us/kənˈfes/B2 to admit that you have done something wrong or something that you feel guilty or bad about:
[ + that ] She confessed to her husband that she had sold her wedding ring.
He confessed to sleeping/having slept through most of the movie.
He has confessed to the murder.
[ + (that) ] I have to confess (that) when I first met Reece I didn't think he was very bright.
It was all very confusing, I must confess.
in the Christian religion, especially the Roman Catholic Church, to tell God or a priest what you have done wrong so that you can be forgiven:
to confess your sins
More examples
- I have to confess I'm a bit of a sucker for musicals.
- I must confess that I got my sums wrong - the house extension is costing a lot more than I expected.
- The killer confessed that he often drugged his victims before he killed them.
- He was granted immunity from prosecution because he confessed the names of the other spies.
- He confessed that he had sinful thoughts.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Admitting & confessing
- acknowledge
- acknowledgment
- admit
- admittedly
- avow
- back down
- climb
- come clean idiom
- concessionary
- eat
- eat your words idiom
- hand
- I stand corrected idiom
- make a clean breast of it idiom
- own up
- retract
- say
- self-confessed
- swallow
- take sth back
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Religious concepts: forgiveness in religion
Religious practices