confessor

CEFRC1

/kənˈfɛsə/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A priest who hears people's confessions.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A priest who hears confession and then gives absolution.

Examples

  • In medieval times, the laity often visited a confessor before major religious festivals.

  • Long before Edward I, the English had a King Edward who they considered a martyr and a King Edward who they considered a confessor.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /ˈkɒnfɛsə/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. One who confesses faith in Christianity in the face of persecution, but who is not martyred.

  2. One who confesses to having done something wrong.

  3. Someone who acts as listener and helper.

More examples

In context

  • Near-synonym: confessant

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The wise old priest served as a kind blank to troubled souls.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English confessor, confessour, from Anglo-Norman confessour, and its source, Latin cōnfessor, from cōnfiteor (“confess, admit, acknowledge”). By surface analysis, confess + -or.