confidante

noun

con·​fi·​dante ˈkän-fə-ˌdänt 

 also  -ˌdant,

-dənt

: confidant

especially : one who is a woman

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
• confidant
• crony
• familiar
• friend
• intimate
• mate [chiefly British]
• musketeer
• pal

Examples of confidante in a Sentence

She was her closest friend and confidante.

only her closest confidantes know what she's going through

Recent Examples on the Web

In between his hosting gigs, Goodman has made nearly as many cameo appearances playing former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Monica Lewinsky confidante Linda Tripp. —Shannon Carlin, TIME, 15 Feb. 2025

Noboa’s main rival González is a close confidante of former leftist President Rafael Correa, still a dominant figure in Ecuador’s politics. —Max Saltman, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025

The billionaire, who has now become a Trump confidante. —J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 7 Feb. 2025

Trump choosing a confidante for this position and others creates unhelpful groupthink that could potentially lead to bad decision-making for U.S. students, Wil Del Pilar, senior vice president of the advocacy group The Education Trust, told ABC News. —Arthur Jones Ii, ABC News, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French confidente, feminine of confident confidant

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

confidante

noun

con·​fi·​dante ˈkän-fə-ˌdant 

-ˌdänt

: confidant

especially : one who is a woman