Did you know?
If you're confident of the trustworthiness of your confidants, you're tuned into the origins of the word confidant. The word comes, via French, from the Italian confidente, meaning "trusting, having trust in," from Latin confīdere, meaning "to put one’s trust in, have confidence in.” Other descendants of confīdere in English include confide, confidence, confident, and confidential, all of which ultimately have Latin fīdere, meaning "to trust (in), rely (on)," as their root. Confidant (and its variant confidante, used especially of a woman) and confident are often confused, a topic about which we have plenty to say.
Did you know?
Is it confident or confidant? (Or is it confidante?)
If you find yourself unsure whether you should choose confident or confidant don’t feel bad; confidant comes to English from the French word confident, and when the word first entered our language it was often spelled that way, rather than as confidant. The difference is quite simple: confidant is a noun (meaning "a person in whom you confide things"), and confident is an adjective (defined as “having confidence”). You may well be confident in your confidant, but you would not be confidant in your confident. Although this distinction has not always been observed by writers, confidante is generally used for a female confidant. The word confidant is more frequently used to describe a man, but it may be applied to either gender.
Synonyms
Examples of confidant in a Sentence
Barak Ravid, Axios, 3 Jan. 2025
His confidants and supporters in the locker room were few, if any.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Jan. 2025
Lane is an award-winning reporter for the Metropolis newspaper, the Daily Planet, who becomes Superman — and his alter ego Clark Kent's — closest confidant and primary love interest.
—Jordana Comiter, People.com, 29 Dec. 2024
The postelection drawdown in Eli Lilly may have been overblown as one close confidant to President-elect Donald Trump appears to support weight loss drugs, according to Bernstein.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 12 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Confidant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confidant. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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confidant
noun
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