Confession
[kən'feʃ(ə)n] or [kən'fɛʃən]
Definition
(noun.) (Roman Catholic Church) the act of a penitent disclosing his sinfulness before a priest in the sacrament of penance in the hope of absolution.
(noun.) a written document acknowledging an offense and signed by the guilty party.
(noun.) the document that spells out the belief system of a given church (especially the Reformation churches of the 16th century).
(noun.) a public declaration of your faith.
(noun.) an admission of misdeeds or faults.
Checked by Judith--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Acknowledgment; avowal, especially in a matter pertaining to one's self; the admission of a debt, obligation, or crime.
(n.) Acknowledgment of belief; profession of one's faith.
(n.) The act of disclosing sins or faults to a priest in order to obtain sacramental absolution.
(n.) A formulary in which the articles of faith are comprised; a creed to be assented to or signed, as a preliminary to admission to membership of a church; a confession of faith.
(n.) An admission by a party to whom an act is imputed, in relation to such act. A judicial confession settles the issue to which it applies; an extrajudical confession may be explained or rebutted.
Inputed by Billy
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Acknowledgment, admission, avowal.
Edited by Flo
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Creed, catechism, articles, doctrines, tenets, profession, declaration,subscription
ANT:Heresy, apostacy, protest, condemnation, refutation, index, renunciation,abjuration
Typed by Gilda
Examples
- His confession was silent, and her promise of faithfulness was silent. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The confession of her heart's secret burst from her in those pleading words. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- This, as I have said before, is not a complete confession; but nothing is stated of consequence to any individual which is not strictly true. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- With this unconfessed confession, her letters glowed; it kindled them, from greeting to adieu. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- There was no confession, no confidence, in the matter. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- She shall wring them all out of me slowly and separately--only by confession, penitence, entreaty. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I hesitated; of the formula of confession I was ignorant: instead of commencing, then, with the prelude usual, I said:--Mon père, je suis Protestante. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Helena still sat near him, holding his hot hand; and the Demarch, thus having got his audience together, began to make his last confession. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- I believe confession, in your case, would be half equivalent to cure. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- It was impossible to make the confession more dispassionately, or in a tone less encouraging to the vanity of the person addressed. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Never certainly have I seen a plainer confession of guilt upon human countenances. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- But her confession would have to be postponed; and the chill of the delay settled heavily on her fagged spirit. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- To fly would be a confession of guilt. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- But that again would mean a confession of the past. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- After confession, absolution is granted to the citizens collectively, but no one is mentioned by name. Plato. The Republic.
- It is hard when, before seven days of marriage are over, such thoughts and confessions as these force themselves on a little bride's mind. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Formul? and confessions were tried over. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- I blushed and hung my head before Mrs. Gill, when she ought to have been faltering confessions to me. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- In the defensive declarations and pretended confessions of murderers, the pursuing shadow of this torture may be traced through every lie they tell. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Nothing but the saddest of all confessions that a man can make--the confession of his own folly. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Moreover, it was actually true that he was fearful of the effect which such confessions might have on Dorothea herself. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
Editor: Yvonne