confess

• vt. 承认；坦白；忏悔；供认
• vi. 承认；坦白；忏悔；供认

con-, 强调。-fess, 说，交谈，词源同phone, profess.

1. confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure

2. admit, make a clean breast of;

"She confessed that she had taken the money"

3. confess to God in the presence of a priest, as in the Catholic faith

confess

confess: [14] Confess comes from Latin confitērī ‘acknowledge’. This was a compound verb formed from the intensive prefix com- and fatērī ‘admit’ (a relative of English fable, fame, and fate). Its past participle was confessus, and this was taken as the basis of a new Vulgar Latin verb *confessāre, which passed into English via Old French confesser.
=> fable, fame, fate

confess (v.)

late 14c., from Old French confesser (transitive and intransitive), from Vulgar Latin *confessare, from Latin confess-, past participle stem of confiteri "to acknowledge," from com- "together" (see com-) + fateri "to admit," akin to fari "speak," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)).

Its original religious sense was of one who avows his religion in spite of persecution or danger but does not suffer martyrdom. Old French confesser thus had a figurative sense of "to harm, hurt, make suffer." Related: Confessed; confessing. An Old English word for it was andettan.

acknowledge, admit, confess, recognize, concede

这些动词均含"承认"之意。

acknowledge：通常指公开承认某事的真实情况或自己的过错。

admit：强调因外力或良心驱使或经判断而明确承认，多含不情愿或被迫意味。

confess：语气较强，着重承认自己意识到的错误或罪行，含坦白忏悔的意味。

recognize：作"承认"解时，系书面用词，主要指合法的或外交上的承认，也指公认。

concede：指在事实与证据面前勉强或不得不承认。

After hours of questioning, the suspect confessed.

经过数小时的审问后，嫌疑犯终于招供。

牛津词典

He confessed that he had stolen the money.

他承认他偷了那笔钱。

牛津词典

We persuaded her to confess her crime.

我们说服她坦白她的罪行。

牛津词典

She was reluctant to confess her ignorance.

她不愿承认她的无知。

牛津词典

I must confess to knowing nothing about computers.

我得承认对电脑一窍不通。

牛津词典

I confess myself bewildered by their explanation.

我承认他们的解释使我感到困惑。

牛津词典

She confessed to the murder.

她供认犯了谋杀罪。

牛津词典

I must confess I'm not a great enthusiast for long political programmes.

我必须承认自己对时间很长的政治节目不是很热衷。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

I confess it's got me baffled...

我承认这把我难倒了。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Once we have confessed our failures and mistakes to God, we should stop feeling guilty.

一旦我们向上帝告明了自己的过失和错误，就不该再觉得内疚。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

You just go to the church and confess your sins...

你干脆去教堂忏悔自己的罪过吧。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Her husband confessed to having had an affair...

她丈夫承认有过外遇。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He had confessed to seventeen murders...

他供认了17起谋杀案。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

In the end he was driven to confess and face a prison sentence, feeling that to clear his conscience would be cheap at the price.

最终他被迫供认不讳,并面临判刑, 感到他要无愧于心,其代价再昂贵也是值得的.

《简明英汉词典》

But I confess our present educational system excites in my mind grave misgivings.

但是我不得不承认,现在的教育制度让我感到非常担忧.

期刊摘选

It's frivolous misuse of time, I confess.

我承认,这有点无谓浪费时间.

辞典例句

Just tell me what it is and I'll confess straight off.

你只用告诉我是什么,我都马上招供.

英汉文学

But I have to confess that I adore everything about Sir Richard Branson.

但是我不得不承认,我崇拜理查德·布兰森先生的一切.

期刊摘选

The surviving leaders of the conspiracy were tortured in prison to make them confess.

这个阴谋反叛集团中幸存下来的领导人在监牢里遭到严刑拷打,逼他们招认口供.

辞典例句

Her guilty conscience made her confess to her crime.

她的犯罪感使她供认了自己的罪行.

期刊摘选

Most people confess to a bad memory.

大多数人都承认记性差.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

I confess that to me It'seems quite impossible.

我觉得这完全不可能.

期刊摘选

I must confess my error.

我必须承认我的错误.

期刊摘选

I was compelled to confess.

我被迫招供了.

期刊摘选

I confess that Las Vegas is beyond my imagination.

我承认拉斯维加斯超乎我的想象之外.

期刊摘选

Instant Active was struggling whether he confess to Little Daisy or not.

为什么他还在那呢?他早就应该走了呀.

期刊摘选

I am half ashamed to confess it.

承认这事我真有些羞愧.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

I confess a sadness to you, but do not think lack resolution.

我对你讲心里的疙瘩, 可别以为我决心不够.

辞典例句

I confess to some suspicion of your honesty.

我承认对你的诚实有所怀疑.

《简明英汉词典》