v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Confected; p. pr. & vb. n. Confecting. ] [ L. confectus, p. p. of conficere to prepare. See Comfit. ] 1. To prepare, as sweetmeats; to make a confection of. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Saffron confected in Cilicia. W. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To construct; to form; to mingle or mix. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Of this were confected the famous everlasting lamps and tapers. Sir T. Herbert. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ My joys ] are still confected with some fears. Stirling. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A comfit; a confection. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

At supper eat a pippin roasted and sweetened with sugar of roses and caraway confects. Harvey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. L. confectio. ] 1. A composition of different materials. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A new confection of mold. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A preparation of fruits or roots, etc., with sugar; a sweetmeat. [ 1913 Webster ]

Certain confections . . . are like to candied conserves, and are made of sugar and lemons. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A composition of drugs. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Med.) A soft solid made by incorporating a medicinal substance or substances with sugar, sirup, or honey. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The pharmacopœias formerly made a distinction between conserves (made of fresh vegetable substances and sugar) and electuaries (medicinal substances combined with sirup or honey), but the distinction is now abandoned and all are called confections. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. LL. confectionaris a pharmacist. ] A confectioner. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks. 1 Sam. viii. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Prepared as a confection. [ 1913 Webster ]

The biscuit or confectionary plum. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A compounder. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Canidia Neapolitana was confectioner of unguents. Haywood. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One whose occupation it is to make or sell confections, candies, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A highly refined sugar in impalpable powder, esp. suited to confectioners' uses. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. Sweetmeats, in general; things prepared and sold by a confectioner; confections; candies. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A place where candies, sweetmeats, and similar things are made or sold. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to the art of making sweetmeats. [ Obs. ] Beaumont. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Confiture. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Cf. F. confédérer. See Confederate. ] To confederate. [ Obs. ] Sir T. North. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Confederacies [ From Confederate, a. ] 1. A league or compact between two or more persons, bodies of men, or states, for mutual support or common action; alliance. [ 1913 Webster ]

The friendships of the world are oft
Confederacies in vice or leagues of pleasure. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

He hath heard of our confederacy. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Virginia promoted a confederacy. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The persons, bodies, states, or nations united by a league; a confederation. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Grecian common wealth, . . . the most heroic confederacy that ever existed. Harris. [ 1913 Webster ]

Virgil has a whole confederacy against him. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) A combination of two or more persons to commit an unlawful act, or to do a lawful act by unlawful means. See Conspiracy.

Syn. -- League; compact; alliance; association; union; combination; confederation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Amer. Hist.) With the, the Confederate States of America. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. confoederatus, p. p. of confoederare to join by a league; con- + foederare to establish by treaty or league, fr. foedus league, compact. See Federal. ] 1. United in a league; allied by treaty; engaged in a confederacy; banded together; allied. [ 1913 Webster ]

All the swords
In Italy, and her confederate arms,
Could not have made this peace. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Amer. Hist.) Of or pertaining to the government of the eleven Southern States of the United States which (1860-1865) attempted to establish an independent nation styled the Confederate States of America; as, the Confederate congress; Confederate money. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who is united with others in a league; a person or a nation engaged in a confederacy; an ally; also, an accomplice in a bad sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

He found some of his confederates in gaol. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Amer. Hist.) A name designating an adherent to the cause of the States which attempted to withdraw from the Union (1860-1865). [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Confederated p. pr. & vb. n. Confederating ] To unite in a league or confederacy; to ally. [ 1913 Webster ]

With these the Piercies them confederate. Daniel. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To unite in a league; to join in a mutual contract or covenant; to band together. [ 1913 Webster ]

By words men . . . covenant and confederate. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A confederate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. confoederatio: cf. F. confédération. ] 1. The act of confederating; a league; a compact for mutual support; alliance, particularly of princes, nations, or states. [ 1913 Webster ]

The three princes enter into some strict league and confederation among themselves. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

This was no less than a political confederation of the colonies of New England. Palfrey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The parties that are confederated, considered as a unit; a confederacy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Articles of confederation. See under Article. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a confederation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A confederate. Grafton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Conferred p. pr. & vb. n. Conferring. ] [ L. conferre to bring together, contribute, consult; con- + ferre to bear: cf. F. conférer. See 1st Bear. ] 1. To bring together for comparison; to compare. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

If we confer these observations with others of the like nature, we may find cause to rectify the general opinion. Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To grant as a possession; to bestow. [ 1913 Webster ]

The public marks of honor and reward
Conferred upon me. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To contribute; to conduce. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The closeness and compactness of the parts resting together doth much confer to the strength of the union. Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To have discourse; to consult; to compare views; to deliberate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered. Acts xxv. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

You shall hear us confer of this. Shak.

Syn. -- To counsel; advise; discourse; converse. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Referee. ] 1. One who is conferred with, or who takes part in a conference; as, the conferees on the part of the Senate. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One upon whom something is conferred. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. conférence. See Confer. ] 1. The act of comparing two or more things together; comparison. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Helps and furtherances which . . . the mutual conference of all men's collections and observations may afford. Hocker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of consulting together formally; serious conversation or discussion; interchange of views. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor with such free and friendly conference
As he hath used of old. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A meeting for consultation, discussion, or an interchange of opinions. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A meeting of the two branches of a legislature, by their committees, to adjust between them. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Methodist Church) A stated meeting of preachers and others, invested with authority to take cognizance of ecclesiastical matters. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A voluntary association of Congregational churches of a district; the district in which such churches are. [ 1913 Webster ]

Conference meeting, a meeting for conference. Specifically, a meeting conducted (usually) by laymen, for conference and prayer. [ U. S. ] --
Conference room, a room for conference and prayer, and for the pastor's less formal addresses. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Relating to conference. [ R. ] Clarke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the act of conferring an honor or presenting a gift. Same as conferral.
Syn. -- bestowal, conferral. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

pos>a. Capable of being conferred. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the act of conferring an honor or presenting a gift.
Syn. -- bestowal, conferment. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. given formally or officially.
Syn. -- bestowed, presented. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Same as Conferee. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who confers; one who converses. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who bestows; a giver. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , a. [ L. conferruminare to cement. See Ferruminate. ] (Bot.) Closely united by the coalescence, or sticking together, of contiguous faces, as in the case of the cotyledons of the live-oak acorn. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Confervæ [ L., a kind of water plant. See Comfrey. ] (Bot.) Any unbranched, slender, green plant of the fresh-water algae. The word is frequently used in a wider sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Belonging to the confervae. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Conferva + -oid. ] Like, or related to, the confervae. Loudon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to confervae; consisting of, or resembling, the confervae. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yon exiguous pool's confervous scum. O. W. Holmes. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Confessed p. pr. & vb. n. Confessing. ] [ F. confesser, fr. L. confessus, p. p. of confiteri to confess; con- + fateri to confess; akin to fari to speak. See 2d Ban, Fame. ] 1. To make acknowledgment or avowal in a matter pertaining to one's self; to acknowledge, own, or admit, as a crime, a fault, a debt. [ 1913 Webster ]

And there confess
Humbly our faults, and pardon beg. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

I must confess I was most pleased with a beautiful prospect that none of them have mentioned. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To acknowledge faith in; to profess belief in. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I confess, also, before my Father which is in heaven. Matt. x. 32. [ 1913 Webster ]

For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. Acts xxiii. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To admit as true; to assent to; to acknowledge, as after a previous doubt, denial, or concealment. [ 1913 Webster ]

I never gave it him. Send for him hither,
And let him confess a truth. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

As I confess it needs must be. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

As an actor confessed without rival to shine. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Eccl.) (a) To make known or acknowledge, as one's sins to a priest, in order to receive absolution; -- sometimes followed by the reflexive pronoun. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our beautiful votary took an opportunity of confessing herself to this celebrated father. Addison.

(b) To hear or receive such confession; -- said of a priest. [ 1913 Webster ]

He . . . heard mass, and the prince, his son, with him, and the most part of his company were confessed. Ld. Berners. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To disclose or reveal, as an effect discloses its cause; to prove; to attest. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tall thriving trees confessed the fruitful mold. Pope.

Syn. -- Admit; grant; concede; avow; own; assent; recognize; prove; exhibit; attest. -- To Confess, Acknowledge, Avow. Acknowledge is opposed to conceal. We acknowledge what we feel must or ought to be made known. (See Acknowledge.) Avow is opposed to withhold. We avow when we make an open and public declaration, as against obloquy or opposition; as, to avow one's principles; to avow one's participation in some act. Confess is opposed to deny. We confess (in the ordinary sense of the word) what we feel to have been wrong; as, to confess one's errors or faults. We sometimes use confess and acknowledge when there is no admission of our being in the wrong; as, this, I confess, is my opinion; I acknowledge I have always thought so; but in these cases we mean simply to imply that others may perhaps think us in the wrong, and hence we use the words by way of deference to their opinions. It was in this way that the early Christians were led to use the Latin confiteor and confessio fidei to denote the public declaration of their faith in Christianity; and hence the corresponding use in English of the verb confess and the noun confession. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To make confession; to disclose sins or faults, or the state of the conscience. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every tongue shall confess to God. Rom. xiv. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To acknowledge; to admit; to concede. [ 1913 Webster ]

But since
(And I confess with right) you think me bound. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. confessant. ] One who confesses to a priest. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. confessarius. ] One who makes a confession. [ Obs. ] Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By confession; without denial. [ Written also confessly. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who makes a confession. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. confession, L. confessio. ] 1. Acknowledgment; avowal, especially in a matter pertaining to one's self; the admission of a debt, obligation, or crime. [ 1913 Webster ]

With a crafty madness keeps aloof,
When we would bring him on to some confession
Of his true state. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Acknowledgment of belief; profession of one's faith. [ 1913 Webster ]

With the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom. x. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Eccl.) The act of disclosing sins or faults to a priest in order to obtain sacramental absolution. [ 1913 Webster ]

Auricular confession . . . or the private and special confession of sins to a priest for the purpose of obtaining his absolution. Hallam. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A formulary in which the articles of faith are comprised; a creed to be assented to or signed, as a preliminary to admission to membership of a church; a confession of faith. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Law) An admission by a party to whom an act is imputed, in relation to such act. A judicial confession settles the issue to which it applies; an extrajudical confession may be explained or rebutted. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Confession and avoidance (Law), a mode of pleading in which the party confesses the facts as stated by his adversary, but alleges some new matter by way of avoiding the legal effect claimed for them. Mozley & W. [ 1913 Webster ]

Confession of faith, a formulary containing the articles of faith; a creed. --
General confession, the confession of sins made by a number of persons in common, as in public prayer. --
Westminster Confession. See Westminster Assembly, under Assembly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. confessional. ] The recess, seat, or inclosed place, where a priest sits to hear confessions; often a small structure furnished with a seat for the priest and with a window or aperture so that the penitent who is outside may whisper into the priest's ear without being seen by him or heard by others. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to a confession of faith. [ 1913 Webster ]

Confessional equality, equality before the law of persons confessing different creeds. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Eccl.) An exaggerated estimate of the importance of giving full assent to any particular formula of the Christian faith. Shaff. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A priest hearing, or sitting to hear, confession. [ R. ] Boucher [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. confessionarium. ] A confessional. [ Obs. ] Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to auricular confession; as, a confessionary litany. [ 1913 Webster ]