62 CON 
CONFIDANT,/ [confident, Fr.] A perfon trufted with 
private affairs, commonly with affairs of love.—Martin 
compoffd his billet-dcux, and intruded it to his confidant. 
Arbuthnot. 
‘ To CONFFDE, v. n [ confido, Lat.] To trull in; to 
put truft: in.—-He alone won't betray, in whom none will 
confide, Congreve. 
CONFIDENCE, f. [cotifidentia, Lat.] Firm belief of 
another’s integrity or veracity; reliance.—Society is built 
upon trull, and truft upon confidence of one another’s in¬ 
tegrity. South. —Truft in his own abilities or fortune ; 
fecurity: oppofed to dejedlion or timidity .—His times being 
rather prolperous than calm, had railed his confidence by 
i'uccefs. Bacon. 
Alas, my lord, 
Your wifdom is confum'd in confidence'. 
Do not go forth to-day. Shakefpeare. 
Vitious boldnefs; falfe opinion of his own excellencies; 
oppofed to modcfty. —Thefe fervent reprehenders of things 
eftabliffied by public authority, are always confident and 
bold-l'pirited men ; but their confidence, for the molt part, 
rifeth from too much credit given to their own wits, for 
which caufe they are feldom free from errors. Hooker. — 
Confcioufnefs of innocence; honeft boldnefs; finnnefs of 
integrity.—Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then 
have we confidence towards God. i John, iii. 21.—Be mer¬ 
ciful unto them which have not the confidence of good 
works. 2 Efid. viii. 36.—That which gives or caufes confi¬ 
dence, boldnefs, or fecurity: 
juft confidence, and native righteoufnefs, 
And honour. Milton. 
CONFIDENT, ad). Allured beyond doubt.—I am con¬ 
fident, that very much may be done towards the improve¬ 
ment of philol'ophy. Boyle. —Pofitive ; affirmative; dog¬ 
matical ; as, a confident talker. Secure of I'uccefs : without 
fear of mifearriage.—Be not confident in a plain way. 
Eccl. xxxii. 21.—People forget how little they know, when 
they grow confident upon any prefent ftate of things. South. 
■—Without fufpicion ; trulting without limits : 
Rome, be as juft and gracious unto me, 
As I am confident and kind to thee. Shakefpeare. 
Bold to a vice; elated with falfe opinion of his own ex¬ 
cellencies; impudent. 
CONFIDENT,/. One trufted with fecrets: 
You love me for no other end, 
But to become my confident and friend ; 
As fuch, I keep no 1 ’ecret from your fight. Dryden. 
CONFIDENTLY, adv. Without doubt; without fear 
of mifearriage.—We Ihall not be ever the Jels likely to 
meet with I'uccefs, if we do not expert it too confidetitly. 
Atterbury. —.With firm truft : 
The maid becomes a youth ; no more delay 
Your vows, but look, and confidently pay. Dryden. 
Without appearance of doubt ; without fufpe&ing any 
failure or deficiency; pofitively; dogmatically.—-Many 
men leaft of all know what they theml'elves moll confidently 
boaft. Ben Jonfon. —Evr ry fool m y believe, and pronounce 
confidently, but wife men will conclude firmly. South. 
CONFIDENTNESS,/ Favourable opinion of one’s 
own powers ; affurance. 
CONFIGURATION, f. [configuration, Fr.] The form 
of the various parts of any thing, as they are adapted to 
each other.—The different efte£ls of fire and water, which 
we call heat and cold, refult from the fo differing configu¬ 
ration and agitation of their particles. Glanville. —The 
Face of the horolcope, according to the afpehts of the 
planets towards each other at any time. 
To CONFIGURE, v. a. [from figura, Lat.] To difpofe 
into any form, by adaptation.—Mother earth brought 
forth legs, arms, and other members of the body, feat¬ 
ured and diftindi, at their fuli growth; which coming 
CON 
together, cementing, and fo configuring themfelves into 
human fliape, made lufty men. Bentley. 
CONFINE,/. [ confinis, Lat. It had formerly the accent 
on the laft fyllable.] Common boundary; border; edge: 
Here in thefe confines (lily have I lurk’d, 
To watch the warning of mine enemies. Shakefpeare. 
CONFINE, ad). [ confinis, Lat.] Bordering upon; begin¬ 
ning where the other ends ; having one common boundary. 
To CONFFNE, v.n. To border upon ; to touch on dif¬ 
ferent territories, or regions : it has voith or on: 
Half loft, I feek 
What readied path leads where your gloomy bounds 
Confine with heav'n. Milton. 
Full in the midft of this created fpace, 
Betwixt heaven, earth, and Ikies, there [lands a place 
Confining on all three. Dryden. 
To CONFI'NE, v. a. [ confiner, Fr. confinis, Lat.] To 
bound ; to limit: as, He confines his fubjeCl by a rigorous 
definition. To Unit up; to imprifon3 to immure; to re- 
ftrain within certain limits : 
I had been 
As broad and gen’ral as the cafing air: 
But now I’m cabbin’d, cribb’d, confin'd, bound in. Shakefp. 
To reftrain ; to tie up to.—Children, permitted the free¬ 
dom of both hands, do oft times confine unto the left, and 
are not without great difficulty reftrained from it. Brown. 
—If the gout continue, I confine myfelf wholly to the milk 
diet. Temple. 
CONFINELESS, ad). Boundlefs; unlimited; unbound¬ 
ed ; without end : 
Efteem him as a lamb, being compar’d 
With my confinelefis harms. Shakefpeare. 
CONFINEMENT, /. Imprifonment; incarceration; 
reftraint of liberty.—The mind hates reftraint, and is apt 
to fancy itfelf under confinement when the fight is pent 
up. Addifon. 
Our hidden foes 
Now joyful from their long confinement rofe. Dryden . 
CONFI'NER, / A borderer; one that lives upon con¬ 
fines; one that inhabits the extreme parts of a country.—• 
The ienate hath ftirr’d up the confiners. Shakefpeare .-—A 
near neighbour.—Though gladnels and grief be oppoiite 
' in nature, yet they are luch neighbours and confiners in 
art, that the leaft touch of a pencil will tranflate a crying 
into a laughing face. Wotton .—One which touches upon 
two different regions.—The participles or confiners be¬ 
tween plants and living creatures are Inch as have no lo¬ 
cal motion. Bacon. 
CONFINlTY, / [ confinitas, Lat.] Nearnefs ; neigh¬ 
bourhood ; contiguity. 
To CONFI'RM, v. a. [confirmo, Lat.] To put paft 
doubt by new evidence.—The teftimony of thrift was 
confirmed in you. 1 Cor. i. 6. 
So was his will 
Pronounc’d among the gods, and by an oath 
Which [hook heav’n’s whole circumference, confirm'd. Milt. 
To fettle; to eftablidi either perfons or things.—I con¬ 
firm thee in the high priefthood, and appoint thee ruler. 
1 Mac. xi. 57.—To fix ; to radicate. To complete 5 to 
perfeft : 
He only liv’d but till he was a man ; 
The which no fooner had his prowefs confirm'd. 
But like a man he died. Shakefpeare. 
To ftrengthen by new folemnities or ties.—That treaty, 
fo prejudicial, ought to have been remitted rather than 
confirmed. Swift .—To fettle or ftrengthen in refolution, 
or purpole, or opinion: 
Confirm'd then I refolve, 
Adam [hall lhare with me in blifs or woe. Milton. 
To 
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