confession means the open admittance of having done something (especially something bad). It carries an Arena rating of 1356, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, confession ranks #1,707 of 14,308 for Most Malleable Words, #2,517 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say, #7,082 of 14,423 for Most Sublime Words, #7,084 of 14,414 for Most Elegant Words.
confession is pronounced /kənˈfɛʃən/.
Why “confession” is a great word
A formal statement admitting to a fault or sin, or the act of making such a statement, especially within a religious or legal rite. From Middle English *confessioun*, from Old French *confession*, from Latin *cōnfessiō*, *cōnfessiōnem* ("confession, acknowledgment"), from *cōnfessus*, past participle of *cōnfiterī* ("to confess, admit"), displacing native Old English *andetnes* and first attested in the 14th century. Unlike "admission," a broader acknowledgment often without guilt, or "disclosure," a neutral revelation lacking ritual weight, confession is burdened with consequence and the architecture of atonement. It is the hush of the kneeling penitent, the cold metal of the interrogation table, the warm flush of shame beneath a collar—the profound human need to translate private burden into shared language, the moment when silence breaks not into light, but into the heavier, irrevocable relief of surrender.
Etymology
From Middle English confessioun, from Old French confession, from Latin cōnfessiō, cōnfessiōnem (“confession, acknowledgment, creed or avowal of one's faith”). Displaced native Old English andetnes. Doublet of confessio.
Morphologically confess + -ion.
Sense 6 is a calque of 告白 (kokuhaku).
noun
- The open admittance of having done something (especially something bad).“Without the real murderer's confession, an innocent person could be jailed.”
- A formal document providing such an admission.“He forced me to sign a confession!”
- The disclosure of one's sins to a priest for absolution. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is now also termed the sacrament of reconciliation.“I went to confession and now I feel much better about what I had done.”
- Acknowledgment of belief; profession of one's faith.“With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
- A formula in which the articles of faith are comprised; a creed to be assented to or signed, as a preliminary to admission to membership of a church; a confession of faith.
- The act of professing one's love.
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