confess

/kən-ˈfes/

Middle English confessen "to admit, confess, (of a priest) hear a confession," borrowed from Anglo-French confesser (also continental Old French), derivative of confés "confessed, shriven," going back to Latin confessus, past participle of confiteor, confitērī "to admit (a fact, the truth of a statement or charge), reveal," from con- com-fateor, fatērī "to accept as true, acknowledge, profess," probably a verbal derivative based on Indo-European *b{sup}h{/sup}h-to- "spoken" or *b{sup}h{/sup}h-t- "who speaks," from the verbal base *b{sup}h{/sup}eh- "speak, say," whence also Latin for, fārī "to speak, say"

verb

  1. to tell or make known (something, such as something wrong or damaging to oneself) : admit

  2. to acknowledge (sin) to God or to a priest

  3. to receive the confession of (a penitent)

he confessed his guilt

acknowledge admit own avow confess mean to disclose against one's will or inclination. acknowledge implies the disclosing of something that has been or might be concealed. admit implies reluctance to disclose, grant, or concede and refers usually to facts rather than their implications.