confident

adjective

con·​fi·​dent ˈkän-fə-dənt How to pronounce confident (audio)
-ˌdent
1
: full of conviction : certain
confident of success
confident that conditions will improve
2
: having or showing assurance and self-reliance
a confident young businessman
a confident manner
3
obsolete : trustful, confiding
confidently adverb

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.

Examples of confident in a Sentence

I am confident about my ability to do the job. The players seem more relaxed and confident this season. He has become more confident in his Spanish-speaking skills. They have a confident air about them. We are confident that conditions will improve soon.
Recent Examples on the Web The buyer was confident in the business’s ability to run without him. Lien De Pau, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024 Her eyes brim with tears behind her signature glasses; her confident voice gets squeaky. Belinda Luscombe / Boston, TIME, 23 Oct. 2024 Sony is confident, however, that fanboys will find the third outing to be the best of the bunch and help fuel better-than-expected ticket sales. Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024 And for Oslo that is neatly dovetailing with an increasingly confident Norwegian fashion industry, emerging from the shadows of wonderful wonderful Copenhagen and Gen Z tech hub Stockholm. Mark Faithfull, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for confident 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'confident.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin confīdent-, confīdens "trusting in oneself, assured, presumptuous," from present participle of confīdere "to put trust in, have confidence in, be sure" — more at confide

First Known Use

circa 1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of confident was circa 1567

Dictionary Entries Near confident

Cite this Entry

“Confident.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confident. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

confident

adjective
con·​fi·​dent ˈkän-fəd-ənt How to pronounce confident (audio)
-fə-ˌdent
: having or showing confidence : sure, self-assured
confident of winning
a confident manner
confidently adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on confident

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