confidante
noun
Did you know?
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.
Examples of confidante in a Sentence
Allie Volpe, Vox, 7 May 2025
Enter Manny, who becomes Corby’s protector, and over time, his confidante.
—Leigh Haber, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2025
Cracks stared showing within a few years of their wedding: The couple’s political views began to diverge, and the emperor refused to discuss politics with his wife, preferring his mother as a confidante.
—Elizabeth Djinis, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2025
To do this, Emery requests the freedom to put in place a group of confidantes that can carry out his wishes.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for confidante
Cite this Entry
“Confidante.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confidante. Accessed 14 May. 2025.
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confidante
noun
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