confident
- 01 B1 Intermediate
feeling sure of your own abilities and worth.
possessing or showing self-assurance and belief in one's own abilities.
Simple“She felt confident about the job interview because she had prepared well.”
In context“The candidate appeared remarkably confident during the debate, answering even the most aggressive questions with poise and clarity.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
feeling sure that something is true or will happen.
having a strong belief or full assurance in the truth of a statement or the certainty of an event.
Simple“The scientists are confident that the new medicine will work.”
In context“Despite the initial setbacks, the lead engineer remained confident of a successful launch before the end of the fiscal year.”
PitfallI am confident to win the game. I am confident that I will win the game.Use a 'that' clause or 'of/about' after confident, rather than an infinitive verb, when expressing certainty about an outcome.
confident vs confidential — Confident describes a person's self-assurance, while confidential describes information that must be kept secret.
From Middle French confident, from Latin confidens (“confident, i.e. self-confident, in a good or bad sense, bold, daring, audacious, impudent”), present participle of confidere (“to trust fully, confide”). See confide.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.