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CONFESSION
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(Roman Catholic Church) the act of a penitent disclosing his sinfulness before a priest in the sacrament of penance in the hope of absolution
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):
penance (a Catholic sacrament; repentance and confession and atonement and absolution)
Domain category:
Church of Rome; Roman Catholic; Roman Catholic Church; Roman Church; Western Church (the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "confession"):
shrift (the act of being shriven)
Derivation:
confess (confess to God in the presence of a priest, as in the Catholic faith)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A written document acknowledging an offense and signed by the guilty party
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):
document; papers; written document (writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature))
Derivation:
confess (admit (to a wrongdoing))
confess (confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The document that spells out the belief system of a given church (especially the Reformation churches of the 16th century)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):
church doctrine; creed; gospel; religious doctrine (the written body of teachings of a religious group that are generally accepted by that group)
Instance hyponyms:
Augsburg Confession (the document drawn up in 1555 to defend the catholicity of Lutheran doctrine and to justify innovations in Lutheran practice; is still in effect today)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A public declaration of your faith
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):
declaration (a statement that is emphatic and explicit (spoken or written))
Sense 5
Meaning:
An admission of misdeeds or faults
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("confession" is a kind of...):
admission (an acknowledgment of the truth of something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "confession"):
self-accusation; self-condemnation (an admission that you have failed to do or be something you know you should do or be)
Derivation:
confess (admit (to a wrongdoing))
confess (confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure)
Context examples:
Thus did Michael Dennin, under sentence of death, make public confession of his crime.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
The confession completely renewed her first shame—and the sight of Harriet's tears made her think that she should never be in charity with herself again.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
I should never deserve her confidence again, after forcing from her a confession of what is meant at present to be unacknowledged to any one.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
I may even go the length of open confession.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Don't you think I had better take advantage of the confession, and begin and coax and entreat—even cry and be sulky if necessary—for the sake of a mere essay of my power?
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
“No,” said he, “my father's hands need not be strengthened, and Frederick's confession of folly need not be forestalled. He must tell his own story.”
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
“Not very much,” was his confession.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
On the evening before my going to London, said he, I made a confession to him, which I believe I ought to have made long ago.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
When I came here today, I thought that nothing could have wrested this confession from me.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
But it is nice to be praised and admired, and I can't help saying I like it, said Meg, looking half ashamed of the confession.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
