confidence

B1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈkɑn.fɪ.dəns/ UK /ˈkɒn.fɪ.dəns/ See IPA manual

Freq #2614

Meanings

1

noun
The feeling that you can do things well and succeed.

He entered the ring with confidence.
2

noun
A feeling of trust in someone or something.

I have complete confidence in our team.
3

noun
A secret that you tell someone you trust.

She shared a confidence with me that I promised to keep.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the feeling that you can do... self-assurance

2 noun · a feeling of trust in... trust faith

Opposites

bashfulness insecurity shyness timidity

Word family

Forms confidences

Derived forms e-confidencehonfidenceinconfidencemisconfidencenonconfidenceoverconfidenceself-confidencesuperconfidenceunconfidenceunderconfidence

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Confidence, recorded in late Middle English, comes from the same Latin source, fides, as faith, fidelity, confide, and diffident.

Etymology

From Middle English confidence, from Latin cōnfīdentia (possibly via Old French confidence), from cōnfīdō (“believe, confide in”) from con- (“with”) + fīdō (“trust”). By surface analysis, confide + ence.

*bʰeydʰ- Proto-Indo-European confidence Middle English cōnfīdentia Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Psychology & Behavior

External links

# confidence

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑn.fɪ.dəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒn.fɪ.dəns/
**Frequency rank:** 2614

## Meanings
1. The feeling that you can do things well and succeed.
2. A feeling of trust in someone or something.
3. A secret that you tell someone you trust.

## Examples
- He entered the ring with confidence.
- I have complete confidence in our team.
- She shared a confidence with me that I promised to keep.

## Antonyms
- bashfulness
- insecurity
- shyness
- timidity

## Derived Forms
- e-confidence
- honfidence
- inconfidence
- misconfidence
- nonconfidence
- overconfidence
- self-confidence
- superconfidence
- unconfidence
- underconfidence

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰeydʰ-
- Root: confidence
- Root: cōnfīdentia
- Affix: -ence - state

## Etymology
From Middle English confidence, from Latin cōnfīdentia (possibly via Old French confidence), from cōnfīdō (“believe, confide in”) from con- (“with”) + fīdō (“trust”). By surface analysis, confide + ence.

## AI Etymology
confidence is a noun. It is from Middle English confidence, from Latin cōnfīdentia (possibly via Old French confidence), from cōnfīdō (“believe, confide in”) from con- (“with”) + fīdō (“trust”). By surface analysis, confide + ence. Historical forms in the chain include *bʰeydʰ- (Proto-Indo-European), confidence (Middle English), cōnfīdentia (Latin), and confidence (Old French). Current senses include the feeling that you can do things well and succeed, a feeling of trust in someone or something, and a secret that you tell someone you trust. Derived forms include e-confidence, honfidence, inconfidence, misconfidence, and nonconfidence.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Psychology & Behavior

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