confess
/kənˈfes/ (bre, ipa) · /kənˈfes/ (ame, ipa) · /kən-ˈfes/ (ame, mw)
confess — verb
- confesspresent simple I / you / we / they
- confesseshe / she / it
- confessedpast simple
- confessing-ing form
1. to openly tell someone, often with a feeling of guilt, about an illegal or moral
to openly tell someone, often with a feeling of guilt, about an illegal or morally bad action you committed, especially one you were trying to hide — for instance, admitting a theft when the police question you, or telling a friend about a lie you have been keeping.
Nikhil confessed to stealing the money after the manager found the security footage.
confess to + gerund for admitting an action
Tamar confessed to her roommate that she had eaten the last piece of cake.
confess to + person + that-clause
The suspect confessed everything to the police when they showed him the evidence.
After years of guilt, Indra finally confessed that she had lied about her university degree.
Andrei confessed to breaking the window and offered to pay for the repair.
- admit
Broader and less emotional; can be used for any acknowledgment, not just of wrongdoing ('admit you were wrong')
- own up to
Informal phrasal verb, often used in everyday situations when someone stops hiding the truth ('own up to breaking the cup')
- come clean
Informal idiom meaning to finally tell the full truth after lying or hiding it ('decided to come clean about the affair')
文法句型
confess + that-clause
confess to + noun / gerund
confess + noun + to + person
confess (without object)
用法筆記
Frequently used with the preposition 'to' followed by the person receiving the confession ('confessed to her mother') or by the wrongdoing itself as a gerund ('confessed to stealing'). When the wrongdoing is a that-clause, the preposition 'to' is not used ('confessed that he had taken the money'). Common in both legal contexts (confessing to the police) and everyday personal situations (confessing a mistake to a friend or family member).
常見錯誤
2. in Roman Catholicism and certain other Christian churches, to privately tell a p
in Roman Catholicism and certain other Christian churches, to privately tell a priest about your sins during a formal ceremony, trusting that God will pardon you through the priest's blessing — a practice known as the Sacrament of Penance.
Every Saturday afternoon, Noor goes to the church near her house to confess her sins.
confess + noun (sins) for religious context
Folake confessed her mistakes to the priest and asked God to forgive her.
confess + noun + to + priest
Constanza confessed to the priest that she had been dishonest with her family.
Baraka knelt in the wooden booth and confessed his sins to the priest quietly.
In the Catholic tradition, believers confess their sins to a priest during a special ceremony.
- repent
Different focus: repent means to feel genuine sorrow and decide to change, while confess is the act of telling one's sins aloud
文法句型
confess + noun (sins, wrongdoings)
confess to + person
confess + that-clause
用法筆記
In Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, this is a formal sacrament. The person confesses (the penitent) goes to a priest and tells their sins aloud. The priest then offers advice and gives a penance (a prayer or good deed). The noun 'confession' can refer both to the act itself ('went to confession') and to the list of sins told ('my confession took five minutes'). In Protestant traditions, believers are more likely to 'confess their sins directly to God' in private prayer rather than to a priest.