confessionals
Where sins spoken
Confessionals are the small enclosed booths in Catholic churches where priests hear confessions, typically with a screen or grille separating priest from penitent.
The term extends to any private space for intimate disclosure.
In reality television, confessionals are the segments where participants speak directly to camera about their thoughts and feelings: The best drama happens in the confessionals.
Self-mortification for wrongdoing
- absolutionFormal clearing of guilt
- priestOne who performs sacraments
- sinViolation of divine law
- penitentOne showing remorse
contrition · rite · reconciliation · forgiveness · atonement · clergy · bishop · diocese
Worship hall seating
- kneelerPadded prayer support
- screenDisplay or barrier
- grilleProtective metal grating
- curtainFabric hung for privacy
partition · box · cubicle · stall · chapel · sanctuary · nave · sacristy
Scrutiny of one's thoughts
- soul-searchingProbing one's innermost feelings
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- self-awarenessInsight into one's psyche
meditation · self-scrutiny · self-reflection · self-discovery · conscience · guilt · remorse · regret
Formal questioning session
- tell-allRevealing, candid account
- memoirWritten personal recollection
- exposéInvestigative journalism piece
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative
diary · revelation · admission · testimony · podcast · documentary · tabloid · behind-the-scenes
Entry or confession
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
- secretConcealed information
- unburdeningRelieving oneself of weight
- catharsisPurification through emotional expression
vulnerability · honesty · truth-telling · openness · self-disclosure · intimate · personal · private
penance
Self-mortification for wrongdoing
- absolutionFormal clearing of guilt
- priestOne who performs sacraments
- sinViolation of divine law
penitent · contrition · rite · reconciliation · forgiveness · atonement · clergy · bishop · diocese · faithful
pew
Worship hall seating
curtain · partition · box · cubicle · stall · chapel · sanctuary · nave · sacristy · vestry
self-examination
Scrutiny of one's thoughts
- soul-searchingProbing one's innermost feelings
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
self-awareness · meditation · self-scrutiny · self-reflection · self-discovery · conscience · guilt · remorse · regret · reckoning
interview
Formal questioning session
- tell-allRevealing, candid account
- memoirWritten personal recollection
- exposéInvestigative journalism piece
autobiography · diary · revelation · admission · testimony · podcast · documentary · tabloid · behind-the-scenes · unscripted
admission
Entry or confession
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
- secretConcealed information
- unburdeningRelieving oneself of weight
catharsis · vulnerability · honesty · truth-telling · openness · self-disclosure · intimate · personal · private · whispered
- churchnave, pew, pews, altar, altars
- memoirsmemoir, memoirs, autobiography, autobiographies, life story
- reality TVSurvivor, contestant, The Bachelor, elimination, The Bachelorette
- cathedralsnave, apse, transept, spire, altar
- church architecturealtar, altars, nave, naves, aisle
- The Bachelorrose ceremony, final rose, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise
confessionalspews
Fixed sanctuary seating
nave · public seating · choir loft · altar · pulpit
confessionalsdenials
Refusals to acknowledge
cover-ups · concealments · suppressions · evasions · stonewalling
- confessional boothEnclosed space for religious disclosure
- confessional poetryPoetry of raw personal revelation
- confessional boxBooth for admitting sins