confirm

verb

kən-ˈfərm How to pronounce confirm (audio)
Definition of confirmnext
1
as in to verify
to give evidence or testimony to the truth or factualness of several eyewitnesses who can confirm the defendant's account of what happened

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to approve
to give official acceptance of as satisfactory the senate must confirm an appointment to an ambassadorship

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb confirm contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of confirm are authenticate, corroborate, substantiate, validate, and verify. While all these words mean "to attest to the truth or validity of something," confirm implies the removing of doubts by an authoritative statement or indisputable fact.

confirmed the reports

When is authenticate a more appropriate choice than confirm?

While the synonyms authenticate and confirm are close in meaning, authenticate implies establishing genuineness by adducing legal or official documents or expert opinion.

handwriting experts authenticated the diaries

When is it sensible to use corroborate instead of confirm?

While in some cases nearly identical to confirm, corroborate suggests the strengthening of what is already partly established.

witnesses corroborated his story

When could substantiate be used to replace confirm?

The synonyms substantiate and confirm are sometimes interchangeable, but substantiate implies the offering of evidence that sustains the contention.

the claims have yet to be substantiated

In what contexts can validate take the place of confirm?

The meanings of validate and confirm largely overlap; however, validate implies establishing validity by authoritative affirmation or by factual proof.

validated the hypothesis by experiments

When would verify be a good substitute for confirm?

In some situations, the words verify and confirm are roughly equivalent. However, verify implies the establishing of correspondence of actual facts or details with those proposed or guessed at.

all statements of fact in the article have been verified

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of confirm Messi was back on the training field for the first 15 minutes of Wednesday morning’s session that were open to the media, but Mascherano refrained from confirming the star’s participation for Thursday. —Franco Panizo, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2025 In October 2023, Savannah first confirmed the family's estrangement from Kyle and Lindsie on the Oldish podcast. —Esther Kang, People.com, 7 Mar. 2025 Hoffner did confirm that all 25 locations were owned by one franchise-owner, which continues to own and operate other Dairy Queen restaurants in the state. —Alana Edgin, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025 The team confirmed the change as the Yankees began spring training in Florida over the weekend. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for confirm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confirm
  1. verify
  2. approve
  3. argue
  4. ratify
  5. finalize
  6. accept
Verb
  • Check road conditions: Before embarking on your journey, verify the current road conditions to make informed travel decisions.
    — Southern California Weather Report, Orange County Register, 7 Mar. 2025
  • There was no sanitizer measured in a three-compartment sink or in buckets with wipe cloths, and employees did not know how to properly verify the quantity of sanitizer using test strips.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 7 Mar. 2025
Definition of verify
Verb
  • Congress could still approve a joint resolution to terminate the president's national emergency.
    — John Parkinson, ABC News, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Producers got a lifeline late last year when the outgoing government approved a new version of the country’s film funding law, keeping in place state subsidies for local productions, without which German film production would grind to a halt.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of approve
Verb
  • In Syria, Abu Abdullah argued citizens were hoping for a non-sectarian framework for their future government.
    — Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Her son can be heard continuing to argue his case in the background.
    — Lex Harvey, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of argue
Verb
  • The agreement was overwhelmingly ratified by the unit with 96% voter participation and ratified with 93% support.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Birthright citizenship was ratified as the 14th Amendment to the Constitution in 1868.
    — Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2025
Definition of ratify
Verb
  • Their divorce was finalized the following year in June.
    — Janelle Ash, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Robach and Holmes' divorces were finalized in 2023, and Shue and Fiebig have since started dating each other.
    — Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of finalize
Verb
  • Some colleges do not accept the Common Application, including the University of California System, the service academies, MIT and Georgetown.
    — Scott White, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Last year, the country accepted more than 100,000 refugees through the program.
    — Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of accept

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Cite this Entry

“Confirm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confirm. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

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