confidence

1 freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities; "his assurance in his superiority did not make him popular"; "after that failure he lost his confidence"; "she spoke with authority" [syn: assurance, self-assurance, self-confidence, authority, sureness]

2 a feeling of trust (in someone or something); "I have confidence in our team"; "confidence is always borrowed, never owned" [ant: diffidence]

3 a state of confident hopefulness that events will be favorable; "public confidence in the economy"

4 a trustful relationship; "he took me into his confidence"; "he betrayed their trust" [syn: trust]

5 a secret that is confided or entrusted to another; "everyone trusted him with their confidences"; "the priest could not reveal her confidences"

English

Etymology

Latin confidentia > confidere > con- + fidere > fides

Pronunciation

Noun

1. Self-assurance.
2. Expression or feeling of certainty.
3. The quality of trusting.
4. Information held in secret.

Quotations

• 1956 — Arthur C. Clarke, The City and the Stars, p 39

  Khedron hesitated for a moment, wondering how far he should take Jeserac into his confidence. He knew that Jeserac was kindly and well-intentioned, but he also knew that he must be bound by the same taboos that controlled everyone on Diaspar.

Antonyms

• (self-assurance): fear

Derived terms

• confidence interval
• confidence level

Related terms

• confidant
• confidante
• confident
• confidential
• self-confidence

Translations

• Hebrew: ביטחון (bit'akhon) (2,3)
• Slovene: samozavest (1), zaupanje (3)
• Telugu: స్థైర్యం (sthairyaM)

Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain, either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct, or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective given the circumstances. Confidence can be described as a subjective, emotional state of mind, but is also represented statistically as a confidence level within which one may be certain that a hypothesis will either be rejected or deemed plausible. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself when considering a capability. Overconfidence is having unmerited confidence--believing something or someone is capable when they are not. Scientifically, a situation can only be judged after the aim has been achieved or not. Confidence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as those without it may fail or not try because they lack it, and those with it may succeed because they have it, rather than because of an innate ability.

Choking refers to losing confidence, especially self-confidence, just at the moment when it is needed most and doing poorly as a result e.g. in sports. This is found as a common plot device in literature and film, and is usually devised to result in a total alteration of a character's life.

Introduction

Usually when someone is referred to as 'confident' they are referring to self-confidence. Self-confidence is faith in one's own abilities. One who is self-confident is not necessarily loud, brash, or reckless.

Confidence as a psychological quality is related to, but distinct from, self esteem. Confidence may be considered to be made up of a number of components. For example, Confidence Club defines confidence in terms of 5 components: 'social confidence', 'physical presence', 'stage presence', 'status confidence' and 'peer independence'.

Losing confidence is no longer trusting in the ability to perform. It may be reasonable as the result of past failure to perform, or unreasonable, because one "just has a feeling" about something or is having doubt. Confidence in someone is having faith and trust in that person. One considers that person reliable.

Confidence in others

People may have confidence in other people or forces beyond their control. For instance, one might have confidence in the police to protect them, or may have confidence that a sports team will win a game. Faith and Trust are synonyms of confidence when used in this sense.

See also

• Security
• Shyness
• Emotional bias

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