confessional

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /kənˈfɛʃənəl/ UK /kənˈfeʃənəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a booth for hearing confession; intimately self-revealing

The priest waited quietly inside the confessional.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a booth for hearing... confidingself-revealingintimate candid disclosing

Opposites

reticent secretive reserved

Word family

Related forms confess confession confessor

Etymology

From confession + -al. Confession derives from Latin confessionem, from confiteri ('to acknowledge, confess'), from com- (intensive) + fateri ('to admit'), related to fari ('to speak').

confiteri Latin fateri Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# confessional

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /kənˈfɛʃənəl/
**IPA (UK):** /kənˈfeʃənəl/

## Meanings
1. a booth for hearing confession; intimately self-revealing

## Examples
- The priest waited quietly inside the confessional.

## Synonyms
- confiding
- self-revealing
- intimate
- candid
- disclosing

## Antonyms
- reticent
- secretive
- reserved

## Related Forms
- confess
- confession
- confessor

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: confiteri
- Root: fateri

## Etymology
From confession + -al. Confession derives from Latin confessionem, from confiteri ('to acknowledge, confess'), from com- (intensive) + fateri ('to admit'), related to fari ('to speak').

## AI Etymology
Confessional comes from confession + -al. Confession derives from Latin confessionem, from confiteri ('to acknowledge, confess'), from com- (intensive) + fateri ('to admit'), related to fari ('to speak'). The historical trail runs through confiteri in Latin and fateri in Latin. Morphologically, confessional is transparent: it draws on confession + -al. Used as a noun and adjective, confessional now means "a booth for hearing confession; intimately self-revealing", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as confess, confession, and confessor. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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