<B>conferva, </B>noun, pl. <B>-vae.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any freshwater green alga composed of unbranched, many-celled filaments. </DL>
<A NAME="confervoid">
<B>confervoid, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of, having to do with, or like a conferva. <DD><I>noun </I> a conferva. </DL>
<A NAME="confess">
<B>confess, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to acknowledge; admit; own up to. <BR> <I>Ex. The fat man confessed his fault, which was a weakness for candy. The thief confessed his crime to the police.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to concede; grant. <BR> <I>Ex. I confess you are right on one point.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to tell (one's sins) to a priest in order to obtain forgiveness. <DD><B> 4. </B>to hear (a person) tell his sins in order to obtain forgiveness, as a priest does; act as a confessor to. <DD><B> 5. </B>to declare belief in. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Poetic.) to manifest; show. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to admit one's guilt; own (to). <BR> <I>Ex. The thief decided to confess. My brother confessed to eating the cake.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to make known one's sins to a priest. <DD><B> 3. </B>to act as a confessor. </DL>
<A NAME="confessant">
<B>confessant, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who confesses; confessor. <BR> <I>Ex. The confessant kneels down before the priest sitting on a raised chair above him (Francis Bacon).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="confessed">
<B>confessed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> acknowledged; admitted. <BR> <I>Ex. ... a confessed narcotics user (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<B>confesser, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who confesses or makes confession. </DL>
<A NAME="confession">
<B>confession, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an owning up; acknowledgment; admission. <BR> <I>Ex. the confession of a fault or weakness. ... to force from their prisoners the confession of hidden treasure (Edward Gibbon).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>admission of guilt. <BR> <I>Ex. to make a full confession.</I> <DD><B> 3a. </B>the telling of one's sins to a priest in order to obtain forgiveness. <BR> <I>Ex. Confession is good for the soul.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the thing confessed. <DD><B> 4a. </B>the acknowledging of sin or sinfulness, especially as made in liturgical form in public worship. <DD><B> b. </B>the form used. <DD><B> 5. </B><B>=confession of faith.</B> <DD><B> 6. </B>a group of believers adhering to the same creed; communion. <DD><B> 7. </B>the tomb, altar, or shrine of a martyr or confessor. </DL>
<A NAME="confessional">
<B>confessional, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a small booth in which a priest hears confessions. <DD><B> 2. </B>the practice of confessing sins to a priest. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with confession. adv. <B>confessionally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="confessionalism">
<B>confessionalism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> devotion to the maintenance of a creed or confession of faith within a church. </DL>
<A NAME="confessionary">
<B>confessionary, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with confession. </DL>
<A NAME="confessionoffaith">
<B>confession of faith,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an acknowledgment of belief. <DD><B> 2. </B>the belief acknowledged; creed. </DL>
<A NAME="confessor">
<B>confessor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who confesses. <DD><B> 2a. </B>a priest who has the authority to hear confessions and to grant absolution. <DD><B> b. </B>a priest acting as the private spiritual director of a king or other great personage. <DD><B> 3. </B>a person who acknowledges religious belief and adheres to it despite persecution and torture. <DD><B> 4. </B>a person whose life exemplifies sanctity and Christian ideals. <BR> <I>Ex. Edward the Confessor.</I> noun <B>confessorship.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="confetti">
<B>confetti, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>bits of colored paper thrown about at carnivals, weddings, or parades. <DD><B> 2. </B>bonbons, or plaster or paper imitations of these, thrown during carnivals in Italy. </DL>
<A NAME="confidant">
<B>confidant, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person trusted with one's secrets or private affairs; close friend. </DL>
<A NAME="confidante">
<B>confidante, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a woman confidant. </DL>
<A NAME="confide">
<B>confide, </B>verb, <B>-fided,</B> <B>-fiding.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to tell as a secret. <BR> <I>Ex. He confided his troubles to his brother.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to give to another to keep safe; hand over. <BR> <I>Ex. She confides her baby to the day nursery while she is at work. The collection of dues is confided to the treasurer.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to show trust by telling secrets. <BR> <I>Ex. The girl confided in no one, but she kept a diary.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to put trust or have faith (in). <BR> <I>Ex. Confide in God. You can confide in their good faith. Some other whom they confide in for protection (Thomas Hobbes).</I> noun <B>confider.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="confidence">
<B>confidence, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>firm belief or trust. <BR> <I>Ex. We have no confidence in a liar. The leader of the explorers had great confidence in his native guide. With confidence in his Maker, he went to his doom.</I> (SYN) faith. <DD><B> 2. </B>a feeling sure or certain; assurance. <BR> <I>Ex. with full confidence of victory.</I> (SYN) conviction. <DD><B> 3. </B>firm belief in oneself and one's abilities; self-confidence. <BR> <I>Ex. Years of experience at his work have given him great confidence.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>boldness; too much boldness. <BR> <I>Ex. Although he could not swim, he dived into the water with confidence.</I> (SYN) presumption. <DD><B> 5. </B>trust that a person will not tell others what is told to him. <BR> <I>Ex. The secret was told to me in strict confidence.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>a thing told as a secret. <BR> <I>Ex. I listened to her confidences for half an hour.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>something that gives a feeling of security. <DD><B> 8. </B>(British.) trust, as expressed by a majority vote of the parliament, in the actions and policy of the prime minister and his cabinet. <BR> <I>Ex. a vote of confidence.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in the confidence of,</B> </I>sharing or trusted with the private opinions, plans, or purposes of. <BR> <I>Ex. He is in the confidence of several influential government officials.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>take into one's confidence,</B> </I>to share some private matter or matters with; confide matters of importance to. <BR> <I>Ex. He took me into his confidence and told me about his latest invention.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="confidencegame">
<B>confidence game,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a fraud in which the swindler persuades his victim to trust him, especially with money or valuables. </DL>
<A NAME="confidenceman">
<B>confidence man,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a swindler who persuades his victim to trust him. </DL>
<B>confident, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>firmly believing; certain; sure. <BR> <I>Ex. I feel confident that our team will win. The doctor felt confident that his patient would recover.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>sure of oneself and one's abilities. <BR> <I>Ex. I, alone, was confident that I would succeed.</I> (SYN) assured, sanguine. <DD><B> 3. </B>too bold; too sure. <BR> <I>Ex. He has the impudently confident air of inexperience.</I> (SYN) presumptuous. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) trustful; confiding. <DD><I>noun </I> a close, trusted friend; confidant. adv. <B>confidently.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="confidential">
<B>confidential, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>spoken or written as a secret. <BR> <I>Ex. The spy gave General Washington a confidential report on enemy activity.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>showing confidence or trust; confiding. <BR> <I>Ex. She spoke in low, confidential tones.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>trusted with secret matters. <BR> <I>Ex. A confidential secretary should be discreet.</I> adv. <B>confidentially.</B> noun <B>confidentialness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="confidentialcommunication">
<B>confidential communication,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) a communication which a witness cannot be compelled to disclose, as that of a client to his lawyer or of a person confessing to a priest; privileged communication. </DL>
<A NAME="confidentiality">
<B>confidentiality, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality or state of being confidential. </DL>
