confident

confident — adjective

1. having a firm belief that you can achieve what you want, or feeling sure that a

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

having a firm belief that you can achieve what you want, or feeling sure that a situation will produce the result you hope for

Example

Tamar felt confident before her piano exam because she had practised every day.

confident before [event] for time-specific certainty

The marketing team is confident that the new campaign will attract more customers.

confident + that-clause for certainty about outcomes

Common collocations
  • feel confident
  • remain confident
  • look confident
  • sound confident
  • confident smile
  • confident manner
  • confident prediction
  • confident about
  • confident of
  • confident that
Synonyms
  • sure

    more casual and factual; sure can refer to simple facts ('I'm sure it's Tuesday'), while confident implies inner readiness or positive belief

  • certain

    stronger and more factual or evidence-based; certain suggests objective grounds, whereas confident involves personal conviction

  • assured

    more formal; especially in self-assured, which describes calm, poised confidence in social or professional situations

  • optimistic

    focuses on positive expectations about the future rather than belief in ability; you can be optimistic without being confident

Antonyms
  • uncertain

    lacking confidence or clear knowledge about an outcome

  • insecure

    specifically lacking self-confidence; anxious about one's own abilities or worth

  • doubtful

    having doubts about whether something will succeed or be true

Grammar Patterns

confident + that-clause

confident about + noun / -ing form

confident of + noun

confident + noun (attributive: a confident smile)

Usage Note

Commonly followed by about (+ noun or gerund), of (+ noun), or a that-clause (the conjunction that is often dropped in everyday speech). In attributive position — a confident smile, a confident voice — the adjective describes visible behaviour that reveals inner certainty.

Common Mistakes

I am confident to pass the exam.
I am confident that I will pass the exam.' or 'I am confident about passing the exam.
confident is not followed by a to-infinitive.
She is very confident of herself.
She is very confident.' or 'She is very self-confident.
confident of is used with outcomes or situations, not people; for self-belief use confident alone or self-confident.

Word family

  • confidence
    nounB1
  • confidently
    adverbB1
  • self-confident
    adjectiveB1
  • overconfident
    adjectiveB2
  • overconfidence
    nounC1
  • confide
    verbB2
  • confiding
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Confident, sure, certain, assured and optimistic all describe a state without doubt, but they differ in which kind. Confident stresses a positive inner belief grounded in past experience or preparation — it covers both self-belief and trust in outcomes. Sure is the most casual and widely used word; it can refer to factual certainty ('I'm sure it's closed') as well as personal confidence, yet it lacks the emotional charge of confident. Certain is more factual and conclusive, implying objective evidence or firm conviction ('The test results are certain'). Assured (especially self-assured) focuses on calm, poised self-confidence in social or professional settings. Optimistic is limited to positive future expectations without necessarily implying ability or evidence — you can be optimistic about rain clearing up without being confident it will. Compare: 'She was confident she could win because she had trained for months' versus 'She was optimistic about winning, though she had never raced before.'

confident ↗sure ↗certain ↗assuredoptimistic

Common collocations

Nouns

  • confident prediction
  • confident smile
  • confident tone
  • confident manner
  • confident start
  • confident answer

Adverbs

  • extremely confident
  • fairly confident
  • quietly confident
  • increasingly confident
  • supremely confident
  • less confident

Phrases

  • feel confident
  • remain confident
  • sound confident
  • look confident
  • become confident

Prepositions

  • confident about
  • confident of
  • confident in

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Confident comes from Latin confīdēns, the present participle of confīdere, meaning 'to trust fully'. The prefix com- acts as an intensifier, and fīdere means 'to trust' (related to fidēs 'faith'). The word entered English through French in the 1500s and has carried the sense of inner certainty and trust ever since.