confess
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to admit that you have done something wrong or illegal.
to admit to a crime, fault, or error, often under pressure or as a matter of conscience.
Simple“After hours of questioning, the suspect finally confessed to the robbery.”
In context“The defendant eventually confessed to the fraud, providing the authorities with a detailed account of how the funds were diverted.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'to' followed by a noun or gerund.
PitfallHe confessed that he stole the money. He confessed to stealing the money.While 'confess that' is possible, 'confess to' followed by a gerund (-ing) is the most common and natural pattern for admitting an action.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
to tell someone a secret or a private feeling that you have been hiding.
to disclose private thoughts, feelings, or secrets that were previously withheld.
Simple“I have to confess that I haven't actually read the book yet.”
In context“She finally confessed her admiration for his work, admitting she had followed his career since his very first exhibition.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
to tell a priest about the bad things you have done so that God can forgive you.
to acknowledge one's sins to God or a priest in order to receive absolution.
Simple“He went to the church every Saturday to confess his sins.”
In context“The penitent knelt in the small wooden booth to confess his transgressions and seek spiritual guidance from the priest.”
UsageCan be used reflexively, as in 'to confess oneself'.
Synonymsshrive - 04 C1 Advanced
when a priest listens to someone telling their sins.
to hear or receive a confession of sins in a formal religious capacity.
Simple“The priest spent the entire afternoon confessing people in the village.”
In context“During the holy week, the bishop stayed late into the evening to confess the many pilgrims who had travelled to the cathedral.”
UsageIn this sense, the priest is the subject and the sinner is the object.
“Two teachers were killed in a violent attack on a secondary school in Malmo in 2022 - an 18-year-old student later confessed to the attack.”
“Muehl confessed to kicking the sea lion four times.”
From Middle English confessen, from Anglo-Norman confesser, from Old French confesser, from Latin confessus (Old French confés), past participle of cōnfiteor (“I confess, I admit”) from con- + fateor (“to admit”). Displaced Middle English andetten (“to confess, admit”) (from Old English andettan). Doublet of confiteor. Sense 6 is a calque of 告白 (kokuhaku).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.