CONFESSION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does confession mean? 

• CONFESSION (noun)
  The noun CONFESSION has 5 senses:

1. an admission of misdeeds or faults

2. a written document acknowledging an offense and signed by the guilty party

3. (Roman Catholic Church) the act of a penitent disclosing his sinfulness before a priest in the sacrament of penance in the hope of absolution

4. a public declaration of your faith

5. the document that spells out the belief system of a given church (especially the Reformation churches of the 16th century)

  Familiarity information: CONFESSION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONFESSION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An admission of misdeeds or faults

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):

admission (an acknowledgment of the truth of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "confession"):

self-accusation; self-condemnation (an admission that you have failed to do or be something you know you should do or be)

Derivation:

confess (admit (to a wrongdoing))

confess (confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A written document acknowledging an offense and signed by the guilty party

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):

document; papers; written document (writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature))

Derivation:

confess (admit (to a wrongdoing))

confess (confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(Roman Catholic Church) the act of a penitent disclosing his sinfulness before a priest in the sacrament of penance in the hope of absolution

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):

penance (a Catholic sacrament; repentance and confession and atonement and absolution)

Domain category:

Church of Rome; Roman Catholic; Roman Catholic Church; Roman Church; Western Church (the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "confession"):

shrift (the act of being shriven)

Derivation:

confess (confess to God in the presence of a priest, as in the Catholic faith)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A public declaration of your faith

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):

declaration (a statement that is emphatic and explicit (spoken or written))

Sense 5

Meaning:

The document that spells out the belief system of a given church (especially the Reformation churches of the 16th century)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):

church doctrine; creed; gospel; religious doctrine (the written body of teachings of a religious group that are generally accepted by that group)

Instance hyponyms:

Augsburg Confession (the document drawn up in 1555 to defend the catholicity of Lutheran doctrine and to justify innovations in Lutheran practice; is still in effect today)

 Context examples 

But that again would mean a confession of the past.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Never, certainly, have I seen a plainer confession of guilt upon human countenances.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He felt that it would be inappropriate and a confession of inferiority on his part—which would never do if he was to win to her.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Then I could produce your confession at the last extremity to save young McCarthy.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Let me advise you to gain at least the small credit for repentance and confession, since there are still some details which we can only learn from your lips.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I saw that I was suspected, and I saw, also, that even if I were to clear myself, it could only be done by a public confession of the infamy of my brother.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Probably I should have told the whole story to the doctor, for I was in mortal fear lest the captain should repent of his confessions and make an end of me.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

That report, you say, is false; and be assured, dear Justine, that nothing can shake my confidence in you for a moment, but your own confession.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

If you are dating seriously, you might receive (or give) an exciting confession of love, possibly a marriage proposal.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)