con·fes·sion·al
kən-ˈfesh-nəl 
-ˈfe-shə-nᵊl
1
: a place where a priest hears confessions
2
: the practice of confessing to a priest
1
: of, relating to, or being a confession especially of faith
2
a
: intimately autobiographical
confessional fiction
b
: characterized by unguarded openness or self-revelation
We live in a confessional culture, provoked by social media and the internet and the warmth of the human impulse to share and … commiserate.—
Megan Garber
Megan GarberExamples of confessional in a Sentence
Adjective
confessional interviews of famous actors
Recent Examples on the WebDan Piepenbring, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
In a confessional, Charlie didn’t feel too strongly about this alliance, seeing as a few of them already voted out one of their own in Tim.
—Brian Anthony Hernandez, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024
Here, performers dance behind beaded curtains while bartenders serve drinks out of a wooden structure that resembles a confessional.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 18 Apr. 2024
The director Ari Katcher achieves a careful balance between naturalism and narrative coherence, and eschews the genre’s glossy direct-to-camera confessionals altogether; Carmichael’s inner thoughts are conveyed instead through snippets of borderline-diaristic standup.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024
In a confessional, Tori explains why Lilah has to go to a sleep study.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
In other ways, Mr. Zephaniah used the public forum as a confessional.
—Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023
The album’s lo-fi confessionals delve into heartbreak and childhood to tell the story of a life, pared back like field recordings retrieved from some ancient nomad dwelling.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 19 Mar. 2024
In a confessional, Tori explains that first birthdays can be a lot of pressure.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 18 Mar. 2024
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2024
Critics both amateur and professional have rushed in to excavate which songs seem to be about which real people, turning a creative work into confessional fodder for the Daily Mail’s sidebar of shame—a habit that Swift herself has seemed to encourage.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
The songs on Tortured Poets, most of which are mid- or uptempo ballads spun out in the gossamer style that's defined Swift's confessional mode since Folklore, build a closed universe of private and even stolen moments, inhabited by only two people, Swift and a man.
—Ann Powers, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024
His deeply personal poetry anticipates the confessional turn of the late nineteen-fifties and early sixties, although by the time that revolution came around, Schwartz was too broken to participate.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
After a long, dormant decade, confessional singer/songwriters from every country and cut along the pop/rock continuum are blowing up.
—Sarah Grant, SPIN, 10 Apr. 2024
Rogers is no longer reliant on confessional first-person writing.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
As confessional television, the scene is a cheeky failure, albeit one containing some clues about how Carmichael’s theories about the examined life might fare when put into practice.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
In a confessional interview later, Janelle expressed concern over her children's strained relationship with their father.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024
Noun
The heart of the Red Bar feels something like a confessional, with grilles that guests can speak through.
—Dan Piepenbring, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
In a confessional, Charlie didn’t feel too strongly about this alliance, seeing as a few of them already voted out one of their own in Tim.
—Brian Anthony Hernandez, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024
Here, performers dance behind beaded curtains while bartenders serve drinks out of a wooden structure that resembles a confessional.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 18 Apr. 2024
The director Ari Katcher achieves a careful balance between naturalism and narrative coherence, and eschews the genre’s glossy direct-to-camera confessionals altogether; Carmichael’s inner thoughts are conveyed instead through snippets of borderline-diaristic standup.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024
In a confessional, Tori explains why Lilah has to go to a sleep study.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
In other ways, Mr. Zephaniah used the public forum as a confessional.
—Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023
The album’s lo-fi confessionals delve into heartbreak and childhood to tell the story of a life, pared back like field recordings retrieved from some ancient nomad dwelling.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 19 Mar. 2024
In a confessional, Tori explains that first birthdays can be a lot of pressure.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 18 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Related Glen Powell Becomes a Master of Disguise in Latest 'Hit Man' Trailer
These seven episodes also fit into a particular 21st-century TV tradition: the half-hour confessional show where the star is also a creator, and where the material is often, but not always, autobiographical.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2024
Critics both amateur and professional have rushed in to excavate which songs seem to be about which real people, turning a creative work into confessional fodder for the Daily Mail’s sidebar of shame—a habit that Swift herself has seemed to encourage.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
The songs on Tortured Poets, most of which are mid- or uptempo ballads spun out in the gossamer style that's defined Swift's confessional mode since Folklore, build a closed universe of private and even stolen moments, inhabited by only two people, Swift and a man.
—Ann Powers, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024
His deeply personal poetry anticipates the confessional turn of the late nineteen-fifties and early sixties, although by the time that revolution came around, Schwartz was too broken to participate.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
After a long, dormant decade, confessional singer/songwriters from every country and cut along the pop/rock continuum are blowing up.
—Sarah Grant, SPIN, 10 Apr. 2024
Rogers is no longer reliant on confessional first-person writing.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
As confessional television, the scene is a cheeky failure, albeit one containing some clues about how Carmichael’s theories about the examined life might fare when put into practice.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
In a confessional interview later, Janelle expressed concern over her children's strained relationship with their father.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'confessional.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near confessional
Cite this Entry
“Confessional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confessional. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
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