What does confident mean?
Confident is an adjective describing a state of self-assurance or firm certainty. A person who is confident believes in their own abilities, judgment, or worth, often conveying poise to others; equally, one can be confident about an outcome, meaning firmly convinced it will occur. English borrowed the word from French, tracing back to the Latin confidere, 'to trust fully,' from com- ('with, thoroughly') plus fidere ('to trust'), making it etymologically a sibling of words like confidence, confide, and fidelity. Its connotations are overwhelmingly positive in modern usage — confidence is widely treated as a desirable trait — though overconfidence can carry a cautionary edge. Commonly paired with nouns like smile, manner, and voice, it also anchors useful patterns such as 'confident that' and 'confident of.' Distinguish it carefully from the similarly spelled confidant, which denotes a person entrusted with secrets rather than a quality of mind.
Self-assured; having firm belief in one's own abilities, qualities, or judgment.
"She was confident she could finish the marathon despite the injury."
Frequently followed by 'that' + clause or by 'of/about' + noun.
Certain; firmly assured that something is true or will happen.
"Investors remain confident that the economy will rebound next year."
When you say you're 'confident,' you're literally saying you have faith in yourself — the word comes from Latin fides, meaning 'faith.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of confident
Confident entered English in the mid-16th century, borrowed from French confiant or directly from Latin confident-, the stem of confidens, the present participle of confidere, meaning 'to trust fully or rely on.' This Latin verb combines com- ('thoroughly') with fidere ('to trust'), a root derived from fides, 'faith.' The same root gives English cognates such as confide, confidant, fidelity, infidel, and fiduciary.
Related word forms
How confident is actually used
Standard in both formal and informal registers. When followed by a preposition, 'confident of' typically takes a noun phrase while 'confident that' introduces a clause. The related noun meaning 'a trusted friend' is spelled 'confidant' (or 'confidente' in older use), never 'confident.'
Easily confused with confident
A confidant is a noun meaning a trusted person you share secrets with, while confident is an adjective describing self-assurance or certainty.