confidingly

IPA/kənˈfaɪdɪŋli/
IPA/kənˈfaɪdɪŋli/

confidingly — adverb

1. in a manner that reveals you trust someone else enough to share private thoughts

1.adverbC1
Definition

in a manner that reveals you trust someone else enough to share private thoughts, feelings, or information that you would not usually tell others.

Example

Quan spoke confidingly to his sister about his worries over the job interview.

confidingly + spoke to/about (sharing worries)

Reema leaned closer and whispered confidingly, telling Iris about the surprise party.

confidingly + whispered (sharing a secret)

Common collocations
  • speak confidingly
  • whisper confidingly
  • write confidingly
  • smile confidingly
  • lean confidingly
  • confidingly + verb of communication
Synonyms
  • trustingly

    similar meaning but slightly broader — can apply to any act of trust, not just sharing secrets

  • openly

    emphasises honesty and lack of concealment rather than the trust aspect

  • intimately

    suggests a closer personal relationship than confidingly

Antonyms
  • suspiciously

    shows distrust rather than trust

  • secretively

    deliberately keeping information hidden rather than sharing it

Usage Note

Most often used with verbs of communication — speak, whisper, write, tell, or share — where personal or secret information is involved.

Common Mistakes

She confidingly walked to the store.
She confidingly told her friend about the family secret.
Confidingly only makes sense with actions that involve trust and sharing personal information, not with everyday movements.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All three words describe how someone shares information, but they differ in emphasis. Trustingly focuses on the act of placing confidence in someone; it can apply to any situation where you believe someone will not harm or betray you. Confidingly is narrower — it always implies revealing private, personal, or secret information. Openly suggests honesty and absence of concealment, but does not necessarily involve private information; you can openly discuss public facts. Intimately carries a stronger sense of emotional closeness and a deep personal relationship. For example: 'She trustingly handed him the keys' (trust in action), 'She confidingly told him about her childhood fears' (sharing secrets), 'She openly disagreed with the plan' (no concealment), and 'They spoke intimately about their hopes for the future' (close emotional bond).

trustingly ↗openly ↗intimately ↗

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed from the adjective 'confiding' (the present participle of the verb 'confide', used as an adjective) plus the adverb-forming suffix '-ly'. The verb 'confide' comes from Latin 'confidere', which combines 'con-' (meaning 'fully' or 'together') and 'fidere' (meaning 'to trust'). The sense of trusting someone enough to share secrets developed in English during the 17th century.

First known use

1797

1797, in the meaning defined above