confidence
/'kɔnfidəns/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A feeling of trust in someone or something: A belief that someone is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc., or that something will work as intended.
- A feeling of certainty and self-assurance: A belief in your own abilities to succeed or deal with situations.
- A secret or private matter told to someone: Information shared privately with someone you trust.
Examples of Usage
- Trust in someone/something:
- The team has full confidence in their new manager.
- Public confidence in the banking system is essential for stability.
- Self-assurance:
- She answered the difficult question with great confidence.
- Losing the match damaged his confidence.
- A private secret:
- She shared a personal confidence with her closest friend.
- As a doctor, he must keep his patients' confidences.
Advanced Usage
- In (strict/strictest) confidence: As a private secret that must not be shared.
- I'm telling you this in the strictest confidence.
- To take someone into one's confidence: To tell someone a secret or private matter because you trust them.
- The CEO took her into his confidence about the upcoming merger.
- A vote of confidence / no-confidence: A formal process to show support for or a lack of support for a leader or government.
- The board gave the new director a vote of confidence.
Variants and Related Words
- Confident (adj): Feeling or showing certainty and self-assurance.
- He was confident he would pass the exam.
- Confidential (adj): Meant to be kept secret or private.
- This is confidential information.
- Confide (verb): To tell someone a secret or private matter while trusting them not to tell others.
- She confided her fears to her sister.
Synonyms
- Trust: Firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.
- Faith: Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
- Assurance: A positive declaration intended to give confidence; a feeling of certainty.
- Self-belief: Trust in one's own abilities or judgment.
Related Phrases
- To have confidence in: To trust or believe in someone or something.
- I have confidence in her ability to lead the project.
- To gain/lose confidence: To start to have or to stop having trust or self-assurance.
- The positive feedback helped him gain confidence.
- To speak with confidence: To say something in a way that shows you are sure of it.
- The expert spoke with confidence about the future trends.
Related Idioms
- A confidence trick / con trick: A trick to get someone's trust in order to cheat them.
- The investment scheme turned out to be a confidence trick.
- To be in someone's confidence: To be trusted by someone with their private thoughts and secrets.
- As her assistant, he was in her confidence.
Noun
- a secret that is confided or entrusted to another
- everyone trusted him with their confidences
- the priest could not reveal her confidences
- a trustful relationship
- he took me into his confidence
- he betrayed their trust
- a state of confident hopefulness that events will be favorable
- public confidence in the economy
- a feeling of trust (in someone or something)
- I have confidence in our team
- confidence is always borrowed, never owned
- freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
- his assurance in his superiority did not make him popular
- after that failure he lost his confidence
- she spoke with authority