Word
confer
Meanings
to give someone an honor, title, degree, or power officially
to talk with someone privately to exchange opinions or make a decision
Definition
To confer means to give something such as an honor, power, or title officially.
To confer is to grant or bestow something formally, often through an official decision or ceremony. It is commonly used with nouns like “honor,” “degree,” “title,” or “authority.” It can also mean to talk privately with someone in order to exchange views or reach a decision, especially in professional contexts.
Examples
- The university will confer an honorary degree on the novelist at the ceremony.
- After a brief pause, she conferred with her team and revised the proposal.
- The constitution confers certain powers on the legislature, but it also sets clear limits.
- Before responding to the journalists, they conferred in a side room to align their message.
Common mistake
Learners often confuse confer with confirm, but confer means “grant officially” or “consult,” not “verify.”
More at C1 level
- ubiquitous Present, appearing, or found everywhere at the same time.
- xenophobia Xenophobia is a strong dislike or fear of people from other countries or cultures.
- genocide Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular group in order to …
- conundrum A conundrum is a confusing and difficult problem to solve.
- pretentious Trying to seem more important, intelligent, or cultured than you really are.
More verbs
- analyze To examine something carefully in order to understand it or explain it.
- scrutinize To scrutinize something is to examine it very carefully and in detail.
- affect To affect something is to influence it or cause it to change.
- allude To allude means to mention or suggest something indirectly without saying it clearly.
- elude To elude someone or something is to avoid being caught, understood, or remembered.