confession

B2 Topic:Crime & Justice

US /kənˈfɛʃən/ See IPA manual

Freq #3119

Meanings

1

noun
A statement admitting that you have done something wrong.

Without the real killer's confession, an innocent person could go to jail.
2

noun
A signed document in which someone admits to a crime.

The police claimed he had signed a confession.
3

noun
The act of telling your sins to a priest to be forgiven.

After going to confession, she felt much calmer.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms confessions

Derived forms anticonfessionconfessionalconfessionlessnonconfession

Related forms confess

Etymology

From Middle English confessioun, from Old French confession, from Latin cōnfessiō, cōnfessiōnem (“confession, acknowledgment, creed or avowal of one's faith”). Displaced native Old English andetnes. Doublet of confessio. Morphologically confess + -ion. Sense 6 is a calque of 告白 (kokuhaku).

confessioun Middle English confession Old French cōnfessiō Latin

View etymology graph ->

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# confession

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /kənˈfɛʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 3119

## Meanings
1. A statement admitting that you have done something wrong.
2. A signed document in which someone admits to a crime.
3. The act of telling your sins to a priest to be forgiven.

## Examples
- Without the real killer's confession, an innocent person could go to jail.
- The police claimed he had signed a confession.
- After going to confession, she felt much calmer.

## Derived Forms
- anticonfession
- confessional
- confessionless
- nonconfession

## Related Forms
- confess

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: confessioun
- Root: confession
- Root: cōnfessiō

## Etymology
From Middle English confessioun, from Old French confession, from Latin cōnfessiō, cōnfessiōnem (“confession, acknowledgment, creed or avowal of one's faith”). Displaced native Old English andetnes. Doublet of confessio. Morphologically confess + -ion. Sense 6 is a calque of 告白 (kokuhaku).

## AI Etymology
confession is a noun. It is from Middle English confessioun, from Old French confession, from Latin cōnfessiō, cōnfessiōnem (“confession, acknowledgment, creed or avowal of one's faith”). Displaced native Old English andetnes. Doublet of confessio. Morphologically confess + -ion. Sense 6 is a calque of 告白 (kokuhaku). Historical forms in the chain include confessioun (Middle English), confession (Old French), and cōnfessiō (Latin). Current senses include a statement admitting that you have done something wrong, a signed document in which someone admits to a crime, and the act of telling your sins to a priest to be forgiven. Derived forms include anticonfession, confessional, confessionless, and nonconfession. Related words include confess.

## Topics
- Crime & Justice

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confession

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