Library / English Dictionary

CONFER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: conferred    , conferring   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have a conference in order to talk something over

Example:

We conferred about a plan of action

Synonyms:

confab; confabulate; confer; consult

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "confer" is one way to...):

discuss; hash out; talk over (speak with others about (something); talk (something) over in detail; have a discussion)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "confer"):

collogue (confer secretly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence examples:

Sam cannot confer Sue

Sam wants to confer with Sue

Derivation:

conferee (a member of a conference)

conference (a discussion among participants who have an agreed (serious) topic)

conference (a prearranged meeting for consultation or exchange of information or discussion (especially one with a formal agenda))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Present

Example:

bestow an honor on someone

Synonyms:

bestow; confer

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "confer" is one way to...):

award; present (give, especially as an honor or reward)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "confer"):

miter (confer a miter on (a bishop))

bless (confer prosperity or happiness on)

graduate (confer an academic degree upon)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something on somebody

Derivation:

conferee (a person on whom something is bestowed)

conferment; conferral (the act of conferring an honor or presenting a gift)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The pits likely serve as mini-domiciles for microbes, conferring some degree of protection against inhospitable conditions.

(Tales from the crypt: Life after death in a graveyard, National Science Foundation)

In addition, neither antibody conferred protection against the related Lloviu or Marburg viruses when tested in human cells in the laboratory setting.

(Antibodies from Ebola survivor protect mice and ferrets against related viruses, NIH)

However, the specific genes and sequences that confer risk remained largely unknown.

(A biological mechanism for schizophrenia, NIH)

Previous work found that mechanical loading during a period of rapid growth conferred lifelong benefits in bone size and strength in rodent models.

(Physical Activity Brings Lasting Bone Benefits, NIH, US)

Certain allelic variants of the EPHX1 gene confer susceptibility to lymphoproliferative disorders.

(EPHX1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

These investigations identify genes and exposures conferring cancer predisposition, and explore the combined effects of predisposition and specific exposures.

(Genetic Epidemiology, NCI Thesaurus)

Presumably each MAPKKK confers responsiveness to distinct stimuli.

(MAPK Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Nonrandom association of linked genes; the occurrence of some genes together, more often than would be expected based upon their physical separation, presumably because the combination confers some selective advantage.

(Linkage Disequilibrium, NCI Thesaurus)

Lersivirine retains activity against HIV viruses with mutations at position Y181, which confers resistance to efavirenz, etravirine, and nevirapine.

(Lersivirine, NCI Thesaurus)

SMAD3 and SMAD4 proteins specifically recognize an eight base pair palindromic DNA sequence that confers TGF-beta responsiveness to a minimal promoter.

(Mothers Against Decapentaplegic Homolog 3, NCI Thesaurus)