Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Cŏn'fi-dănt' or Cŏn'fi-dănte', n. m. p. 271Cŏn'fi-dănte', n. f. (Synop., § 130). [O. Fr. confidant, confidante, N. Fr. confident, confidente.] One to whom secrets are confided or intrusted; a confidential or bosom friend. [Written also…Con-fīde', v. i. p. 271To put faith; to give credit; to rely; to believe;—followed by in; as, the prince confides in his ministers, or in the strength and resources of his people. “Him in whom distress confides.” Smart.Con-fīde′, v. t. p. 271To intrust to; to give in charge to;—followed by to. They would take the property out of the hands of those to whom it was confided by the charter. Hopkinson. Congress may, under the Constitution…Cŏn'fi-dence, n. p. 271The act of confiding, trusting, or putting faith in, as in the reality of a fact or the integrity and veracity of another; trust; reliance; belief. Society is built upon trust, and trust upon…Cŏn'fi-dent, a. p. 271Having assured trust or confidence; secure; trustful. “I am confident that much may be done toward the improvement of philosophy.” Boyle. Rome, be as just and gracious unto me As I am confident and…Cōn'fi-dent, n. p. 271See CONFIDANT.Cŏn'fi-dĕn'tial, a. p. 271Enjoying, or treated with, confidence; trusted in; trustworthy; as, a confidential servant or clerk. 2. Communicated in confidence; privately intrusted; secret. “Confidential messages.” Burke.…Côn'fi-dên'tial-ly, adv. p. 271In confidence; in reliance on secrecy.Cŏn'fi-dent-ly, adv. p. 271With confidence; with strong assurance; positively.Cŏn'fi-dent-ness, n. p. 271The quality of being confident.Con-fid'er, n. p. 271One who confides; one who intrusts to another.Con-fid'ing-ness, n. p. 271The quality of exercising trust; trustfulness; confidence.Con-fig'ū-rāte, v. i. p. 271To take form or position, as the parts of a complex structure, or as the aspects of heavenly bodies with reference to each other. Where pyramids to pyramids relate. And the whole structure doth…Con-fig·ū-rā'tion, n. p. 272External form or figure as depending on the relative disposition of the parts of a thing. It is the variety of configurations [of the mouth] in these openings only which gives birth and origin to the…Con-fig'ūre, v. t. p. 272To arrange or dispose in a certain form, figure, or shape. Bentley.Con-fin'a-ble, a. p. 272Capable of being confined or limited. Not confinable to any limits. Bp. Hall.Cŏn′fīne, n. p. 272Common boundary; border; limit;—used chiefly in the plural, and applied to grand divisions of territory. Events that came to pass within the confines of Judea. Locke. And now in little space The…Côn'fine, a. p. 272Bordering; lying on the border; adjacent; having a common boundary. [Rare.] Johnson.Con-fīne', v. t. p. 272To restrain within limits; to bound; to immure; to keep close. Now let not nature's hand Keep the wild flood confined; let order die. Shak. He is to confine himself to the compass of numbers and the…Cŏn'fine or Con-fine', v. i. p. 272To have a common boundary; to border; to touch the limit. Betwixt heaven and earth and skies there stands a place Confining on all three. Dryden.Cŏn'fine-less or Con-fine'less, a. p. 272Without limitation or end; boundless. Shak.Con-fine'ment, n. p. 272Restraint within limits; imprisonment; any restraint of liberty by force or other obstacle, or by necessity; seclusion. The mind hates restraint, and is apt to fancy itself under confinement when the…Con-fīn'er, n. p. 272One who, or that which, limits or restrains.Cŏn'fin-er or Con-fīn'er, n. p. 272One who lives on confines, or near the border of a country; a borderer; a near neighbor. Happy confines you of other lands That shift your soil and oft 'scape tyrants' hands. Daniel.Con-fĭn'i-ty, n. p. 272Community of limits; contiguity; nearness; neighborhood. [Rare.] Bailey.Con-firm', v. t. p. 272To make firm; to give strength to; to render fixed; to establish; to settle; to render certain; as, to confirm one's spirits with a banquet. Chapman. He only lived but till he was a man; The which no…Con-firm'a-ble, a. p. 272Capable of being confirmed, established, ratified, or made more certain. Browne.Con-firm'ance, n. p. 272Confirmation. [Obs.] Chapman.Cŏn'fir-mā'tion, n. p. 272The act of confirming or giving strength; the act of establishing, settling, or rendering fixed; establishment; proof. “The confirmation of a grant.” Melmoth. 2. That which confirms; that which gives…Con-fĩrm'a-tĭve, a. p. 272Having the power of confirming; tending to establish. [Rare.] Sherwood.Con-fĩrm'a-tĭve-ly, adv. p. 272In a manner to confirm.Cŏn'fir-mā'tor, n. p. 272One who, or that which, confirms. Browne.Con-fĩrm'a-to-ry, a. p. 272Serving to confirm; giving additional strength, force, stability, or assurance; corroborative. “A fact confirmatory of the conclusion.” I. Taylor. 2. Pertaining to the rite of confirmation. Compton.Con-fĩrm'ed-ly, adv. p. 272In a way to confirm; with confirmation.Con-fĩrm'ed-ness, n. p. 272A fixed state.Cŏn'fir-mee', n. p. 272(Law.) One to whom any thing is confirmed. Ash.Con-fĩrm'er, n. p. 272One who, or that which, confirms, establishes, or ratifies; one who produces new evidence; an attester. Shak.Con-firm'ing-ly, adv. p. 272In a manner to strengthen or make firm. B. Jonson.Con-fis'ca-ble, a. p. 272Capable of being confiscated; liable to forfeiture. Broome.Cŏn’fis-cāte or Cŏn-fis’cāte, v. t. p. 272To appropriate, as a penalty, to the public use. [See Note under CONTEMPLATE.] It was judged that he should be banished and his whole estate confiscated and seized. Bacon.Cŏn'/fis-cāte or Cŏn-fis'/cāte, a. p. 272Appropriated, as a penalty, to the public use. Lest that your goods too soon be confiscate. Shak.Cŏn'fis-cā'tion, n. p. 272The act of appropriating, as a penalty, to the public use. The suppression of monasteries poured, in an instant, such a torrent of wealth upon the crown as has seldom been equaled in any country by…Cŏn′fis-eā′tor, n. p. 272One who confiscates. Burke.Con-fis'ca-to-ry, a. p. 272Consigning to or promoting confiscation. “Confiscatory and exterminatory periods.” Burke.Con'fit, n. p. 272A sweetmeat. [Obs.] See COMFIT and CONFECT.Cōn'fi-tent, n. p. 272One who confesses his sins and faults. [Obs.]Cōn'fit-ūre, n. p. 272The act of making into confits. [Obs.] Holland. 2. A sweetmeat; confection; comfit. [Obs.] Bacon.Con-fix', v. t. p. 272To fix; to fasten. [Obs.] Shak.Con-fix'ūre, n. p. 272Act of fixing. [Obs.] Montague.Con-flā'grant, a. p. 272Burning together in a common flame. [R.] Then raise From the conflagrant mass, purged and refined, New heavens, new earth. Milton.Cŏn'fla-grā'tion, n. p. 272A fire on a great scale, or extending to many objects. Mankind hath had a gradual increase notwithstanding what floods and conflagrations . . . may have interrupted. Bentley.Con-flā'gra-tĭve, a. p. 272Causing conflagration. [Rare.]Con-flāte' or Con-flāt'ed, a. p. 272Brought together from various sources; heterogeneous. [Obs.]Con-flā'tion, n. p. 272A blowing together, as of many instruments in a concert, or of many fires in melting metals.Con-flĕx'ŭre, n. p. 272A bending. [Obs.] Bailey.Cŏn'flĭct, n. p. 272A striking or dashing together; violent collision; as, a conflict of elements or waves. 2. A striving to oppose or overcome; contest; strife; combat; collision. As soon as he [Atterbury] was himself…Con-flict', v. i. p. 272To strike or dash together; to meet in violent collision; to collide; as, conflicting waves. “Conflicting elements.” Shak. 2. To maintain a conflict; to contend; to engage in strife; as, conflicting…Con-flict'ĭve, a. p. 272Tending to conflict. Massinger.Con-flŭct'ū-āte, v. i. p. 272To flow together. [Obs.] Ash.Cŏn'flu-ençe, n. p. 272A flowing together; the meeting or junction of two or more streams; the place of meeting. New York stood at the confluence of two rivers. Bancroft. 2. The running together of people; the act of…