confidence

con·fi·dence

Use confidence in a sentence

Hannah gave her best friend a note in confidence about a boy in their class that she likes.

noun

The definition of confidence is trust, faith, self-assurance or something told in secret.

An example of confidence is the belief that the sun will rise tomorrow morning.
An example of confidence is a student feeling positive and prepared for a test they are about to take.
An example of confidence is a friend telling you they are pregnant before telling anyone else.

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"confidence." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE>.

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confidence. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE

confidence

firm belief; trust; reliance
the fact of being or feeling certain; assurance
belief in one's own abilities; self-confidence
a relationship as confidant: take me into your confidence
the belief that another will keep a secret; assurance of secrecy: told in strict confidence
something told as a secret
Bible object of trust: Prov. 3:26

Origin of confidence

Middle English from Classical Latin confidentia from confidens, present participle of confide

swindling or used to swindle

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"confidence." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE>.

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confidence. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE

confidence

noun

a. A belief or conviction that an outcome will be favorable: I have every confidence that we can find a solution.
b. Belief in the certainty of something: The engineers determined with confidence that the ship could withstand heavy seas.
Belief in the effectiveness of one's own abilities or in one's favorable acceptance by others; self-confidence.
Trust or faith in a person or thing: We are placing our confidence in you to get the job done. See Synonyms at trust.
A trusting relationship: I took them into my confidence.
a. That which is confided; a secret: A friend does not betray confidences.
b. A feeling of assurance that a confidant will keep a secret: I am telling you this in strict confidence.

adjective

Of, relating to, or involving a swindle or fraud: a confidence scheme; a confidence trickster.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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"confidence." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE>.

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confidence. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE

confidence

confidence assurance aplomb self-confidence self-possession

These nouns denote a feeling of emotional security resulting from faith in oneself. Confidence is a firm belief in one's powers, abilities, or capacities: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face” (Eleanor Roosevelt). Assurance even more strongly stresses certainty and can suggest arrogance: How can you explain an abstruse theory with such assurance? Aplomb implies calm poise: “It is native personality, and that alone, that endows a man to stand before presidents or generals . . . with aplomb” (Walt Whitman). Self-confidence stresses trust in one's own self-sufficiency: “The most vital quality a soldier can possess is self-confidence” (George S. Patton). Self-possession implies composure arising from control over one's own reactions: “In life courtesy and self-possession . . . are the sensible impressions of the free mind, for both arise . . . from never being swept away, whatever the emotion, into confusion or dullness” (William Butler Yeats).

See Also Synonyms at trust.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"confidence." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE>.

APA Style

confidence. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE

Noun

(uncountable)

Self-assurance.
Expression or feeling of certainty.
The quality of trusting.
Information held in secret.

Related terms

Origin

From Middle French confidence, from Latin confidentia > confidere > con- + fidere > fides

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Cite this page

MLA Style

"confidence." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE>.

APA Style

confidence. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/CONFIDENCE

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