- [uncountable] the feeling that you can trust, believe in and be sure about the abilities or good qualities of somebody/something
- The president's actions hardly inspire confidence.
- confidence in somebody/something The players all have confidence in their manager.
- He believes his reforms will restore confidence in the financial markets.
- The survey revealed a lack of confidence in the government.
- She has the utmost confidence in her students' abilities.
- Our aim is to increase public confidence in the democratic process.
- The university is facing a crisis of confidence about its future role.
- The new contracts have undermined the confidence of employees.
Extra ExamplesTopics Doubt, guessing and certaintyb2- Are we to place confidence in a man who cannot remember a phone call he made last week?
- Confidence has returned to the market.
- Investor confidence plunged to a 30-year low last week.
- The police need to enjoy the full confidence of the public.
- The quarterly survey showed an improvement in business confidence.
- The commanding officer was relieved of his duty because of a loss of confidence in his leadership.
- Confidence is high among the team's supporters.
- Generally there is low public confidence in government institutions.
- To maintain confidence in the criminal justice system, the judiciary needs to engage with the public.
- He expressed confidence in the new plans.
- Higher profits should raise business confidence.
- Only if the chairperson resigns will we be able to restore the confidence of our members.
- Only one bank scandal is needed to shake the confidence in the financial markets.
- Security institutions have to have the confidence of all communities.
- The Cabinet must enjoy the confidence of Parliament.
- The captain of the football team said he had every confidence in his men.
- The captain was not lacking in confidence about her team's prospects.
- The company needs the full confidence of its investors.
- The company's record does not really inspire confidence.
- The general's confidence in his army proved misplaced.
- The government lost a confidence vote.
- They are gradually instilling confidence in their staff.
- They have no confidence in the legal system.
- This government has lost the confidence of the public.
- This government no longer enjoys the confidence of the public.
- We all have complete confidence in this product.
- a loss of confidence among investors
- an effort to renew investor confidence in corporate America
- an environment which builds mutual confidence
- efforts to build confidence between employers and unions
- public confidence in the government
- to maintain public confidence in the system of justice
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- absolute
- complete
- full
- …
- enjoy
- feel
- have
- …
- decline
- decrease
- fall
- …
- confidence about
- confidence among
- confidence between
- …
- a crisis of confidence
- have every confidence
- have the utmost confidence
- …
Definitions on the go
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- [uncountable] a belief in your own ability to do things and be successful
- People often lose confidence when they are criticized.
- He gained confidence when he went to college.
- Receiving compliments from my work colleagues has boosted my confidence.
- The course will help you build your confidence and develop your study skills.
- She certainly doesn't lack confidence.
- He suffers from a lack of confidence.
- with confidence She answered the questions with confidence.
- confidence in something/yourself I didn't have any confidence in myself at school.
- Winning the award has given me much more confidence in my writing.
- confidence to do something The training programmes have given workers the confidence to take on more responsibility.
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesb2- Their confidence grew with each success.
- A lot of children are lacking in confidence.
- All his false confidence had drained away.
- As the weeks went by he grew in confidence.
- During his illness he really lost his confidence.
- The training is designed to give staff confidence in managing problems.
- Failing his exams really dented his confidence.
- Getting the certificate does a lot in terms of confidence building.
- She's really striking the ball well and has got her confidence back.
- I lacked confidence about how I looked.
- My confidence went completely after my first major defeat.
- She gave an outward appearance of quiet confidence.
- He has very little confidence in his own abilities.
- She spoke in a tone of easy confidence.
- He's gained a lot of confidence over the last year.
- Since she got the new job, she's been brimming with confidence.
- The home side badly need a confidence booster.
- Winning the competition really boosted her confidence.
- a man who exudes confidence
- his confidence in himself
- to instil confidence in staff who feel nervous about taking on new roles
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- considerable
- enormous
- great
- …
- have
- demonstrate
- display
- …
- drain
- drain away
- evaporate
- …
- boost
- booster
- builder
- …
- with confidence
- confidence about
- confidence in
- …
- a lack of confidence
- a loss of confidence
- [uncountable] the feeling that you are certain about something
- He said he wished that he shared her confidence.
- with confidence They could not say with confidence that he would be able to walk again after the accident.
- No one can predict with complete confidence what will happen in the financial markets.
- confidence that… She expressed her confidence that they would win.
- [uncountable] a feeling of trust that somebody will keep information private
- It took a long time to gain her confidence (= make her feel she could trust me).
- in confidence Eva told me about their relationship in confidence.
- This is in the strictest confidence.
Extra Examples- Enquiries will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.
- I really can't talk about this—she told me in confidence.
- She promised not to break his confidence.
- She told me in confidence—I couldn't break that confidence, could I?
- Telling other people what I'd said was a total breach of confidence.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- absolute
- complete
- full
- …
- enjoy
- have
- keep
- …
- game
- trick
- man
- …
- in confidence
- a breach of confidence
- in strict confidence
- [countable] (formal) a secret that you tell somebody
- The girls exchanged confidences.
- I could never forgive Mike for betraying a confidence.
Extra Examples- She didn't encourage confidences.
- The boys exchanged whispered confidences.
- Can you keep a confidence?
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- whispered
- exchange
- share
- keep
- …
belief in others
belief in yourself
feeling certain
trust
a secret
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin confidentia, from confidere ‘have full trust’, from con- (expressing intensive force) + fidere ‘trust’.
Idioms
See confidence in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee confidence in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe in somebody’s confidence
- to be trusted with somebody’s secrets
- He is said to be very much in the president's confidence.
take somebody into your confidence
- to tell somebody secrets and personal information about yourself
- She took me into her confidence and told me about the problems she was facing.
- He thought he might take Leo into his confidence.
Check pronunciation:
confidence