confess

verb

/kənˈfes/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they confess	/kənˈfes/ /kənˈfes/
he / she / it confesses	/kənˈfesɪz/ /kənˈfesɪz/
past simple confessed	/kənˈfest/ /kənˈfest/
past participle confessed	/kənˈfest/ /kənˈfest/
-ing form confessing	/kənˈfesɪŋ/ /kənˈfesɪŋ/

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[intransitive, transitive] to admit, especially formally or to the police, that you have done something wrong or illegal
- After hours of questioning, the suspect confessed.
- confess to (doing) something She confessed to the murder.
- confess (that)… He confessed that he had stolen the money.
- confess to somebody (that)… She confessed to me that she had known his true identity for some time.
- confess your crime, error, etc. We persuaded her to confess her crime.
Topics Crime and punishmentb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- freely
- openly
- publicly
- …
verb + confess
- have to
- must
preposition
- to
See full entry
[intransitive, transitive] to admit something that you feel ashamed or embarrassed about
- confess something She was reluctant to confess her ignorance.
- confess to (doing) something I must confess to knowing nothing about golf.
- confess (that)… I confess (that) I know nothing about golf.
- + speech ‘I know nothing about it,’ he confessed.
confess yourself + adj.
- (formal) I confess myself bewildered by their explanation.
see also self-confessed
Synonyms admit
admit
- acknowledge
- recognize
- concede
- confess
These words all mean to agree, often unwillingly, that something is true.
- admit to agree, often unwillingly, that something is true:
  It was a stupid thing to do, I admit.
- acknowledge (rather formal) to accept that something exists, is true or has happened:
  She refuses to acknowledge the need for reform.
- recognize to admit or be aware that something exists or is true:
  They recognized the need to take the problem seriously.
- concede (rather formal) to admit, often unwillingly, that something is true or logical:
  He was forced to concede (that) there might be difficulties.
admit or concede?When somebody admits something, they are usually agreeing that something that is generally considered bad or wrong is true or has happened, especially when it relates to their own actions. When somebody concedes something, they are usually accepting, unwillingly, that a particular fact or statement is true or logical.
- confess (rather formal) to admit something that you feel ashamed or embarrassed about; to admit, especially formally or to the police, that you have done something wrong or illegal:
  She was reluctant to confess her ignorance.
  He confessed to the murder.
Patterns
- to admit/acknowledge/recognize/concede/confess that…
- to admit/confess to something
- to admit/concede/confess something to somebody
- to admit/acknowledge/recognize the truth
- to admit/confess your mistakes/ignorance
Extra Examples
- I must confess that I didn't have much faith in her ideas.
- I must confess to knowing nothing about computers.
Topics Feelingsb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- freely
- openly
- publicly
- …
verb + confess
- have to
- must
preposition
- to
See full entry
[intransitive, transitive] confess (something) (to somebody) (especially in the Roman Catholic Church) to tell God or a priest about the bad things you have done so that you can say that you are sorry and be forgiven
- They had confessed their sins and done their penance.
[transitive] confess somebody (of a priest) to hear somebody confess their sins (= the bad things they have done)

Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French confesser, from Latin confessus, past participle of confiteri ‘acknowledge’, from con- (expressing intensive force) + fateri ‘declare, avow’.