# confession

Pronunciation: say "kuhn-FESH-uhn" /kənˈfɛʃən/

## Noun

1. An open admission that one has done something, especially something wrong.
   - Simple: When you openly admit that you did something, often something wrong.
   - _The detective secured a confession only after presenting the new evidence._
   - _Under pressure, she offered a quiet confession of her part in the scheme._
2. The disclosure of one's sins to a priest in order to receive absolution.
   - Simple: Telling your sins to a priest so that they can be forgiven.
   - _Many Catholics attend confession during the season of Lent._
   - _The priest heard her confession in the quiet of the side chapel._
3. A formal document in which a person admits to having done something wrong.
   - Simple: A written paper in which someone admits they did something wrong.
   - _The signed confession became the key piece of evidence at trial._
   - _Detectives placed the confession on the table for the jury to examine._
4. An acknowledgment of one's belief; an open profession of one's faith.
   - Simple: An open statement that you believe in something, especially your religion.
   - _The martyr's confession of faith never wavered, even under threat of death._
   - _Their shared confession of belief drew the scattered community together._
5. A formal statement of the articles of faith, set out as a creed to be assented to or signed before admission to church membership.
   - Simple: A set of beliefs written down that members of a church agree to.
   - _Each candidate for membership must affirm the congregation's confession of faith._
   - _The synod revised its confession to clarify several doctrinal points._
6. The act of openly declaring one's romantic love for another person.
   - Simple: The act of telling someone that you love them.
   - _The series built steadily toward the hero's tearful confession on the school rooftop, where he finally told her how he felt._
   - _Fans of the manga waited years for Akiko's confession, and when she finally told Ren she loved him, the forums exploded._

## Origin

From Middle English confessioun, from Old French confession, from Latin cōnfessiō, cōnfessiōnem ("confession, acknowledgment, avowal of one's faith"). It replaced the native Old English andetnes, and is a doublet of confessio, formed from confess plus -ion.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/confession (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).