confidant · noun — A person in whom one can confide or share one's secrets: a friend. It carries an Arena rating of 1607, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, confidant ranks #544 of 17,162 for Most Elegant Words, #794 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #7,579 of 17,165 for Most Satisfying to Say, #8,233 of 17,167 for Most Vivid Words.
confidant is pronounced /ˈkɑn.fɪ.dɑnt/.
Why “confidant” is a great word
A person in whom one confides or entrusts private matters or secrets. From French confident (16th century), from Italian confidente, from Latin confidentem, present participle of confidere ("to trust, confide"). Unlike a "confident," which describes a self-assured manner, or a mere "acquaintance," a surface-level connection, a confidant is a vault of the spirit: the dimly lit kitchen at three a.m., the silent nod that forgives an ugly confession, the voice on the other end of a call that requires no greeting—the singular sanctuary where one's hidden self is not a burden but a belonging.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from French confident.
noun
- A person in whom one can confide or share one's secrets: a friend.e.g.“Heaven made you love me for no other end, / But to become my confidant and friend: / As such, I keep no secret from your sight, […]” — 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe, William Miller, published 1808, page 223:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.