Part of speech:

Verb, sometimes the intransitive kind: "I confided in him."

And sometimes the transitive kind: "I confided my secrets in him."

Other forms: 

The other verb forms are "confide" and "confiding."

Someone you confide in is your "confidant" or "confidante" (pronounced "KON fuh dont;" hear it here). Both versions of the word are used today, but "confidante" is more popular.

What's the difference? While "confidant" is masculine and "confidante" is feminine—we have French to thank for that—in English today, most writers don't draw that distinction; they write about confidantes of either gender. For example, here's Suzanne Collins: "He became my confidante, someone with whom I could share thoughts I could never voice inside the fence." And here's Natalie Jamieson for the BBC: "'I'm a friend and a confidante,' muses will.i.am about his role as a coach on The Voice."

"Confide" is one of those formal, common words that most English speakers already know and use.

Still, it's worth exploring, and worth considering how it belongs to the family of words from fidere ("trust"). Consider how, when you confide in someone, you're sharing confidential information, and you're expressing your confidence that they'll keep your secrets. The closeness of these words suggests that confidential things have been faithfully placed in someone's trust and that confidence, even in yourself, is a kind of faith, or trust, or a sharing of a secret.

We talk about people confiding in each other, confiding to each other, confiding that something secret happened or is true, and confiding about something secret.

examples:

"The voice had become soft, as if the man were confiding a secret."
   — Lois Lowry, Son, 2012

"Each new warrior selects another warrior who he feels will be a trusted friend forever, one he can confide in during times of hardship and times of happiness."
  — Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman J. Viola, Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna, 2003

has this page helped you understand "confide"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "confide" without saying "confess" or "disclose."

try it out:

In this book, Joseph J. Ellis described Abigail Adams as her husband's "ultimate confidante, the person he could trust with his self-doubts, vanities, and overflowing opinions."

Are you (or have you been) lucky enough to have a confidante like this in your life? If so, who is (or was) it?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Fill In For the Poet." 

I'll give you a few lines from a poem, with a blank where a word that we've studied before appears, along with the word's definition. See if you can come up with it. If you can't, that's fine: fill in the blank to your satisfaction.

To check out some examples, head here.

Try this today:

From Archibald MacLeish's poem "Ars Poetica:"

A poem should be _____ and mute   
As a globed fruit

Definition: "clear and obvious, as if touchable."

To see the word the poet chose, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. The opposite of CONFIDE IN could be

A. EXPLORE or BRANCH OUT.
B. WORRY or SECOND-GUESS.
C. MISTRUST or CONCEAL FROM.

2. Michael Sokolove described a character as "popular, perhaps, but _____—she has no _____ confidante."

A. depressed .. free
B. closed off .. close
C. approachable .. arrogant

Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. B From the game:  The poet chose palpable. Tangible would also work, but then you'd lose the alliteration ("A poem should be palpable").

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.