Adjacent Words

Confirm definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CONFIRM, v.t. [L., to make firm. See Firm.]
1. To make firm, or more firm; to add strength to; to strengthen; as, health is confirmed by exercise.
2. To fix more firmly; to settle or establish.
Confirming the souls of the disciples. Acts 14.
I confirm thee in the priesthood. Maccabees.
Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs.
3. To make firm or certain; to give new assurance of truth or certainty; to put past doubt.
The testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. 1 Corinthians 1.
4. To fix; to radicate; as, the patient has a confirmed dropsy.
5. To strengthen; to ratify; as, to confirm an agreement, promise, covenant or title.
6. To make more firm; to strengthen; as, to confirm an opinion, a purpose or resolution.
7. To admit to the full privileges of a Christian, by the imposition of hands.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; "his story confirmed my doubts"; "The evidence supports the defendant" [syn: confirm, corroborate, sustain, substantiate, support, affirm] [ant: contradict, negate]
2: strengthen or make more firm; "The witnesses confirmed the victim's account" [syn: confirm, reassert]
3: make more firm; "Confirm thy soul in self-control!"
4: support a person for a position; "The Senate confirmed the President's candidate for Secretary of Defense"
5: administer the rite of confirmation to; "the children were confirmed in their mother's faith"

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French cunfermer, from Latin confirmare, from com- + firmare to make firm, from firmus firm Date: 13th century 1. to give approval to ; ratify <confirm a treaty> 2. to make firm or firmer ; strengthen <confirm one's resolve> 3. to administer the rite of confirmation to 4. to give new assurance of the validity of ; remove doubt about by authoritative act or indisputable fact <confirm a rumor> <confirm an order> • confirmability noun • confirmable adjective Synonyms: confirm, corroborate, substantiate, verify, authenticate, validate mean to attest to the truth or validity of something. confirm implies the removing of doubts by an authoritative statement or indisputable fact <confirmed the reports>. corroborate suggests the strengthening of what is already partly established <witnesses corroborated his story>. substantiate implies the offering of evidence that sustains the contention <the claims have yet to be substantiated>. verify implies the establishing of correspondence of actual facts or details with those proposed or guessed at <all statements of fact in the article have been verified>. authenticate implies establishing genuineness by adducing legal or official documents or expert opinion <handwriting experts authenticated the diaries>. validate implies establishing validity by authoritative affirmation or by factual proof <validated the hypothesis by experiments>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 provide support for the truth or correctness of; make definitely valid (confirmed my suspicions; confirmed his arrival time). 2 (foll. by in) encourage (a person) in (an opinion etc.). 3 establish more firmly (power, possession, etc.). 4 ratify (a treaty, possession, title, etc.); make formally valid. 5 administer the religious rite of confirmation to. Derivatives: confirmative adj. confirmatory adj. Etymology: ME f. OF confermer f. L confirmare (as com-, firm(1))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Confirm Con*firm", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Confrmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Confirming.] [OE. confermen, confirmen, OF. confermer, F. confirmer, fr. L. confirmare; con- + firmare to make firm, fr. firmus firm. See Firm.] 1. To make firm or firmer; to add strength to; to establish; as, health is confirmed by exercise. Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs. --Shak. And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law. --Ps. cv. 10. 2. To strengthen in judgment or purpose. Confirmed, then, I resolve Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe. --Milton. 3. To give new assurance of the truth of; to render certain; to verify; to corroborate; as, to confirm a rumor. Your eyes shall witness and confirm my tale. --Pope. These likelihoods confirm her flight. --Shak. 4. To render valid by formal assent; to complete by a necessary sanction; to ratify; as, to confirm the appoinment of an official; the Senate confirms a treaty. That treaty so prejudicial ought to have been remitted rather than confimed. --Swift. 5. (Eccl.) To administer the rite of confirmation to. See Confirmation, 3. Those which are thus confirmed are thereby supposed to be fit for admission to the sacrament. --Hammond. Syn: To strengthen; corroborate; substantiate; establish; fix; ratify; settle; verify; assure.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(confirms, confirming, confirmed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If something confirms what you believe, suspect, or fear, it shows that it is definitely true. X-rays have confirmed that he has not broken any bones... These new statistics confirm our worst fears about the depth of the recession... VERB: no cont, V that, V n • confirmation They took her resignation from Bendix as confirmation of their suspicions. 2. If you confirm something that has been stated or suggested, you say that it is true because you know about it. The spokesman confirmed that the area was now in rebel hands... He confirmed what had long been feared... VERB: V that, V n • confirmation She glanced over at James for confirmation. 3. If you confirm an arrangement or appointment, you say that it is definite, usually in a letter or on the telephone. You make the reservation, and I'll confirm it in writing. VERB: V n • confirmation Travel arrangements are subject to confirmation by State Tourist Organisations. 4. If someone is confirmed, they are formally accepted as a member of a Christian church during a ceremony in which they say they believe what the church teaches. He was confirmed as a member of the Church of England. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed • confirmation (confirmations) ...when I was being prepared for Confirmation... Flu prevented her from attending her daughter's confirmation. N-VAR 5. If something confirms you in your decision, belief, or opinion, it makes you think that you are definitely right. It has confirmed me in my decision not to become a nun. VERB: no cont, V n in n 6. If someone confirms their position, role, or power, they do something to make their power, position, or role stronger or more definite. Williams has confirmed his position as the world's number one snooker player. VERB: V n 7. If something confirms you as something, it shows that you definitely deserve a name, role, or position. His new role could confirm him as one of our leading actors. VERB: V n as n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Establish, fix, settle, assure, make firm. 2. Strengthen, add strength to. 3. Corroborate, substantiate, verify. 4. Ratify, sanction, bind. 5. Admit to the Communion, invest with full membership in the church.

Moby Thesaurus

OK, accede, accept, acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, accredit, accustom, acquiesce, adapt, addict, adjust, administer the Eucharist, affirm, amen, anoint, approve, assay, assent, assure, attest, audit, authenticate, authorize, autograph, back, back up, be sponsor for, bear out, bed, beef up, bind, bolster, bond, brace, brace up, break, break in, bring to test, buttress, case harden, certify, check, check and doublecheck, check out, check over, chrism, circumstantiate, clinch, collate, condition, consent, corroborate, cosign, countersecure, countersign, cross-check, cut and try, deep-dye, define, do duty, document, domesticate, domesticize, double-check, embed, encourage, endorse, engraft, engrave, ensure, entrench, essay, establish, etch, experiment, familiarize, fix, fortify, found, gentle, gird, give a try, give a tryout, give permission, give the go-ahead, give the imprimatur, give thumbs up, ground, guarantee, guaranty, habituate, harden, have a go, housebreak, impact, implant, impose, impress, imprint, infix, ingrain, initial, inscribe, insure, inure, invigorate, jam, justify, lay hands on, lodge, make good, minister, naturalize, nerve, notarize, officiate, orient, orientate, pack, painstakingly match, pass, pass on, pass upon, perform a rite, perform service, permit, plant, play around with, practice upon, print, probate, prop, prove, put to trial, ratify, recheck, recognize, refresh, reinforce, reinvigorate, research, restrengthen, road-test, root, rubber stamp, run a sample, sample, sanction, say amen to, scrutinize comparatively, seal, season, seat, second, secure, set, set in, settle, shake down, shore up, sign, sign and seal, sign for, sponsor, stamp, stand behind, stand up for, steel, stereotype, stiffen, strengthen, subscribe, subscribe to, substantiate, support, sustain, swear and affirm, swear to, take to, tame, taste, temper, test, toughen, train, triple-check, try, try it on, try out, undergird, underpin, undersign, underwrite, uphold, validate, verify, visa, vise, vouch, warrant, wedge, witness, wont