Did you know?
If you're confident of the trustworthiness of your confidants, you're tuned into the origins of the word confidant. The word comes, via French, from the Italian confidente, meaning "trusting, having trust in," from Latin confīdere, meaning "to put one’s trust in, have confidence in.” Other descendants of confīdere in English include confide, confidence, confident, and confidential, all of which ultimately have Latin fīdere, meaning "to trust (in), rely (on)," as their root. Confidant (and its variant confidante, used especially of a woman) and confident are often confused, a topic about which we have plenty to say.
Did you know?
Is it confident or confidant? (Or is it confidante?)
If you find yourself unsure whether you should choose confident or confidant don’t feel bad; confidant comes to English from the French word confident, and when the word first entered our language it was often spelled that way, rather than as confidant. The difference is quite simple: confidant is a noun (meaning "a person in whom you confide things"), and confident is an adjective (defined as “having confidence”). You may well be confident in your confidant, but you would not be confidant in your confident. Although this distinction has not always been observed by writers, confidante is generally used for a female confidant. The word confidant is more frequently used to describe a man, but it may be applied to either gender.
Synonyms
Examples of confidant in a Sentence
Kim Elsesser, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
Behind the scenes: The U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, who is a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sent the document to Hochstein on Thursday.
—Barak Ravid, Axios, 21 Oct. 2024
According to the memoirs of former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani, a confidant of Khomeini, only around 15 percent of the second generation voted for the candidate Khamenei endorsed in the 1997 presidential elections.
—Saeid Golkar, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2024
Wong will play Taran, Cole’s supportive loyal confidant whilst the action and drama unfolds.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for confidant 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'confidant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Confidant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confidant. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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confidant
noun
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