confidant

noun

con·​fi·​dant ˈkän-fə-ˌdänt 

 also  -ˌdant,

-dənt

: one to whom secrets are entrusted

especially : intimate

He is a trusted confidant of the president.

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

• alter ego
• amigo
• buddy
• chum
• compadre
• comrade
• confidante
• crony
• familiar
• friend
• intimate
• mate [chiefly British]
• musketeer
• pal

Examples of confidant in a Sentence

He is a trusted confidant of the president.

she's my confidant; I tell her everything without reservation

Recent Examples on the Web

For Price, the election marked a referendum on progressive politics in the criminal justice system — particularly after the 2022 recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a fellow progressive district attorney who also served as Price’s confidant and advisor. —Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 5 Nov. 2024

Recently, Deadline exclusively reported the casting addition of Johnny Cannizzaro, who will portray Springsteen’s longtime confidant and E-Street band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt. —Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2024

Adams faces federal criminal charges, according to multiple reports, after authorities raided the homes of his top aides and confidants earlier this month in what appeared to be part of a major corruption investigation in the Big Apple. —Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2024

Key details about the protagonist have changed In the film, Fiennes, 61, plays the British Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the dean of the College of Cardinals and a confidant of the late pope. —Eric Andersson, People.com, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French confident, borrowed from Italian confidente, noun derivative of confidente "trusting, having trust in," borrowed from Latin confīdent-, confīdens, present participle of confīdere "to put one's trust in, have confidence in" — more at confide

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

confidant

noun

con·​fi·​dant ˈkän-fə-ˌdant 

-ˌdänt

: a person to whom secrets are entrusted : a close friend