- 1feeling sure about your own ability to do things and be successful She was feeling relaxed and confident. Beneath his confident and charming exterior lurked a mass of insecurities. The teacher wants the children to feel confident about asking questions when they don't understand. see self-confident
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- 2feeling certain that something will happen in the way that you want or expect confident of something/doing something The team feels confident of winning. confident that… I'm confident that you will get the job. She was quietly confident that everything would go as planned. Thesaurussure
- confident
- convinced
- certain
- positive
- clear
- sure [not before noun] without any doubt that you are right, that something is true, that you will get something, or that something will happen:I'm not sure whether John is coming or not. Are you sure about that? The Orioles are sure to win this weekend. Sure is often used in negative statements and questions, because there is some doubt or anxiety over the matter. If there is no doubt, people often use know:I know (that) I left my bag here (= I have no doubt about it).
- confident completely sure that something will happen in the way that you want or expect:I'm confident that you'll get the job. The team is confident that they will win. Confident is a stronger and more definite word than sure and is more often used in positive statements, when you feel no anxiety.
- convinced [not before noun] completely sure that something is true or right, especially because the evidence seems to prove it or someone else has persuaded you to believe it:I'm convinced that she's innocent.
- certain [not usually before noun] sure that you are right or that something is true:Are you absolutely certain about this?
- Like sure, certain is often used in negative statements and questions. It is slightly more formal than sure;sure is more frequent, especially in spoken English.
- positive [not before noun] (somewhat informal) completely sure that something is true:She was positive that he'd been there. “Are you sure?” “Positive.”
- clear (often used in negative statements and questions) having no doubt or confusion about something:I'm still not clear what the job involves.
- sure/confident/convinced/certain/positive/clear about something
- sure/confident/convinced/certain of something
- sure/confident/convinced/certain/positive/clear that…
- not sure/certain/clear >who/what/how>, etc.
- to feel sure/confident/convinced/certain/positive
- quite/absolutely/completely/fairly/pretty sure/confident/convinced/certain/positive/clear
- not altogether sure/confident/convinced/certain/clear
adverb Carla smiled confidently at the cameras.See confident in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Check pronunciation: confident