confession

UK: /kənˈfɛʃ^ən/ US: /kənˈfɛʃən/ ,(kən fesh′ən)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

con•fes•sion /kənˈfɛʃən/   n. 

1. an act of confessing:
   [uncountable] Confession is good for the soul.
2. Religion something confessed:
   [countable] the candidate's confessions of wrongdoing.
3. a formal acknowledgment of guilt by a person accused of a crime:
   [countable] He signed his confession and they took him off to the cell.

See -fess-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

con•fes•sion  (kən fesh′ən), n. 

1. acknowledgment;
   avowal;
   admission:
   a confession of incompetence.
2. Religion acknowledgment or disclosure of sin or sinfulness, esp. to a priest to obtain absolution.
3. Religion something that is confessed.
4. a formal, usually written, acknowledgment of guilt by a person accused of a crime.
5. Religion Also called confession of faith. a formal profession of belief and acceptance of doctrines, as before being admitted to church membership.
6. Religion the tomb of a martyr or confessor or the altar or shrine connected with it.

• Anglo-French
• Latin confessiōn- (stem of confessiō), equivalent. to confess- (see confess) + -iōn- -ion; replacing Middle English confessioun
• 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

confession / kənˈfɛʃən/ noun

1. the act of confessing
2. something confessed
3. an acknowledgment or declaration, esp of one's faults, misdeeds, or crimes
4. the act of a penitent accusing himself or herself of his or her sins
5. confession of faith ⇒ a formal public avowal of religious beliefs
6. a religious denomination or sect united by a common system of beliefs

conˈfessionary adjective