confidence
nounUK /ˈkɒn.fɪ.dəns/ · US /ˈkɑn.fɪ.dəns/
Etymology From Middle English confidence, from Latin cōnfīdentia (possibly via Old French confidence), from cōnfīdō (“believe, confide in”) from con- (“with”) + fīdō (“trust”). By surface analysis, confide + ence.
1
Self-assurance.
- He entered the ring with confidence.
2
A feeling of certainty; firm trust or belief; faith.
- She had confidence it would soon end.
- It is better to truſt in the Lord : then to put confidence in man. / It is better to truſt in the Lord : then to put confidence in Princes.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 118:8–9:
2 more examples
- Khedron hesitated for a moment, wondering how far he should take Jeserac into his confidence. He knew that Jeserac was kindly and well-intentioned, but he also knew that he must be bound by the same taboos that controlled everyone on Diaspar.1956, Arthur C. Clarke, The City and the Stars, page 39:
- But electric vehicles and the batteries that made them run became ensnared in corporate scandals, fraud, and monopolistic corruption that shook the confidence of the nation and inspired automotive upstarts.2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion:
3
Information held in secret; a piece of information shared but to thence be kept in secret.
- In the course of these confidences it became quite plain to me I had been represented to the wife of the high dignitary, and goodness knows to how many more people besides, as an exceptional and gifted creature - a piece of good fortune for the Company - a man you don’t get hold of every day.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201:
4
Dated Boldness; presumption.
- Antonyms
- timidity, shyness, bashfulness, insecurity
- Derived terms
29 terms
confidence and supply, confidence artist, confidence course, confidence game, confidence interval, confidence level, confidence limits, confidence man, confidence motion, confidence trick, confidence trickster, confidence vote, e-confidence, honfidence, inconfidence, in confidence, misconfidence, motion of confidence, motion of no confidence, no-confidence motion, no-confidence vote, nonconfidence, overconfidence, self-confidence, superconfidence, unconfidence, underconfidence, vote of confidence, vote of no confidence