confide
verb/kənˈfaɪd/
Etymology From Middle Scots confide, confyde (“to put trust in”), from Latin confīdere (“to put trust in, have confidence in”), from con- (“together”) + fidēre (“to trust”). First attested in English use in the early 17th century. Doublet of faith and fidelity.
› To have confidence in someone.
1
Archaic, With in To trust or have faith (in).
- I confide in her judgement in this matter.
- You can confide in him doing the right thing.
3 more examples
- "Be calm, lovely Antonia!" he replied; "no danger in near you: confide in my protection."1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society, published 1985, page 269:
- I shall do nothing rashly: you know me sufficiently to confide in my prudence and consideration whenever the safety of others is committed to my care.1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter II, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 16:
- In thy protection I confide.1807, Lord Byron, The Prayer of Nature:
2
With in To take (someone) into one's confidence; to speak in secret with.
- I could no longer keep this secret alone; I had to confide in my brother.
- She confided in me about her plan to rob the bank.
3
Dated To entrust (something) to the responsibility of someone.
- I confide this mission to you alone.
4
To say (something) in confidence.
- After several drinks, I confided my problems to the barman.
- She confided that her marriage had been in trouble for some time.
1 more example
- One student had been so afraid to come out to our meetings that he would secretly meet me in the bookshelves of the library and confide about the miseries of being gay, closeted, and a virgin.1977 December 10, Mark N. Silber, “Gays On Campus — One Story”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 23, page 15:
- Derived terms
- confidable, confidee, confide in, confider, confiding, misconfide, reconfide, unconfided
- Related terms
- confidant, confidante, confidence, confident, confidential, overconfident