Is it confident or confidant? (Or is it confidante?)
If you find yourself unsure whether you should choose confident or confidant don’t feel bad; confidant comes to English from the French word confident, and when the word first entered our language it was often spelled that way, rather than as confidant. The difference is quite simple: confidant is a noun (meaning "a person in whom you confide things"), and confident is an adjective (defined as “having confidence”). You may well be confident in your confidant, but you would not be confidant in your confident.Although this distinction has not always been observed by writers, confidante is generally used for a female confidant. The word confidant is more frequently used to describe a man, but it may be applied to either gender.
I am confident about my ability to do the job. The players seem more relaxed and confident this season. He has become more confident in his Spanish-speaking skills. They have a confident air about them. We are confident that conditions will improve soon.
Recent Examples on the WebBut Brissett is confident in his ability to stretch a defense.cleveland, 9 Sep. 2022 On the other hand, Arkansas feels confident in quarterback KJ Jefferson. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 3 Sep. 2022 Still, others were confident in his ability to keep Nina on his back. Jacqueline Saguin, Good Housekeeping, 27 Aug. 2022 Village leaders are confident in the accuracy of the $100 million projection because the estimate is based on similar developments, Hawes said. Bob Dohr, Journal Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2022 The share who were confident in the recovery of the economy was a much lower 17%. Justin Lahart, WSJ, 24 Aug. 2022 As long as honest miners have more hash power than malicious miners, users can be confident in the integrity of the blockchain—and hence in the integrity of payments made using the bitcoin network. Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 19 Aug. 2022 About 9 in 10 of those who are confident in the voting process favor Barnes and Evers, while about 9 in 10 of those lacking confidence back Johnson and Michels. Dana Blanton | Fox News, Fox News, 18 Aug. 2022 Small business owner Tyler, 25, also felt confident in Rachel meeting his parents. Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 15 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Latin confīdent-, confīdens "trusting in oneself, assured, presumptuous," from present participle of confīdere "to put trust in, have confidence in, be sure" — more at confide