confessions
Sins spoken aloud
Confessions are admissions of wrongdoing, guilt, or secret information.
In legal contexts, a confession is a statement acknowledging criminal responsibility: The police obtained a confession after hours of interrogation.
In religious practice, confession is the ritual acknowledgment of sins to a priest.
The word also applies to intimate revelations generally: late-night confessions about past relationships.
A confession can be a public declaration of faith or belief.
As a literary genre, confessions are autobiographical works revealing private thoughts and experiences, after Augustine's *Confessions*.
Written personal recollection
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative
- AugustineFourth-century church father
- RousseauFrench surname, philosopher or painter
- tabloidSensationalist newspaper format
tell-all · celebrity · literary · narrative · true · magazine · blog · anonymous
Self-mortification for wrongdoing
- absolutionFormal clearing of guilt
- priestOne who performs sacraments
- sinViolation of divine law
- forgivenessReleasing resentment toward offenders
sacrament · atonement · repentance · contrition · penitent · booth · reconciliation · spiritual
Confirmation of receipt
- disclosureAct of revealing information
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
- avowalOpen declaration of belief
- declarationFormal public announcement
divulgence · owning up · concession · coming clean · unburdening · announcement · recognition · attestation
Guilt for wrongdoing
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- regretSorrow over past actions
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
culpability · penitence · compunction · self-condemnation · pangs · blame · sorrow · conscience
Sworn statement as evidence
- swornBound by formal promise
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
- witnessOne who attests
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
affidavit · evidence · plea · statement · coerced · false · perjury · prosecution
Openness to harm
- trustConfidence in another
- heart-to-heartSincere personal discussion
- bondingForming close connections
- closenessState of proximity
sharing · honesty · openness · sincerity · connection · rapport · empathy · understanding
Kept out of sight
- skeletonsInternal bony structures
- darkAbsence of light
- buriedPlaced beneath earth
- suppressedForcibly held down
concealed · undisclosed · whispered · shameful · private · deathbed · shocking · scandalous
memoir
Written personal recollection
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative
- AugustineFourth-century church father
- RousseauFrench surname, philosopher or painter
tabloid · tell-all · celebrity · literary · narrative · true · magazine · blog · anonymous · online
penance
Self-mortification for wrongdoing
- absolutionFormal clearing of guilt
- priestOne who performs sacraments
- sinViolation of divine law
forgiveness · sacrament · atonement · repentance · contrition · penitent · booth · reconciliation · spiritual · rosary
acknowledgment
Confirmation of receipt
- disclosureAct of revealing information
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
- avowalOpen declaration of belief
declaration · divulgence · owning up · concession · coming clean · unburdening · announcement · recognition · attestation · affirmation
remorse
Guilt for wrongdoing
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- regretSorrow over past actions
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
contrition · culpability · penitence · compunction · self-condemnation · pangs · blame · sorrow · conscience · wrongdoing
testimony
Sworn statement as evidence
deposition · affidavit · evidence · plea · statement · coerced · false · perjury · prosecution · interrogation
vulnerability
Openness to harm
- trustConfidence in another
- heart-to-heartSincere personal discussion
- bondingForming close connections
closeness · sharing · honesty · openness · sincerity · connection · rapport · empathy · understanding · pillow talk
hidden
Kept out of sight
suppressed · concealed · undisclosed · whispered · shameful · private · deathbed · shocking · scandalous · untold
- biographiesbiography, biographies, autobiography, autobiographies, memoir
- prisonsprison, inmates, cells, prisons, prisoner
- Hidden Truthssecrets, lies, cover-ups, deception, mysteries
- personal writingsdiaries, journals, memoirs, love letters, autobiographies
- submissionssubmit, query letter, application, entry, request
- church historychurch history, apostles, Protestant Reformation, Christian history, baptism
confessionsdenials
Refusals to acknowledge
disavowals · repudiations · refutations · disclaimers · rebuttals
confessionscover-ups
Acts of concealing wrongdoing
concealments · secrets · suppressions · silences · evasions
confessionsalibis
Claimed absence from crime
defenses · justifications · excuses · exonerations · vindications
- confession of faithDoctrinal belief statement
- deathbed confessionDisclosure made while dying
- confession boothEnclosed space for admitting sins
- false confessionUntrue guilt statement
- true confessions
- forced confessionStatement extracted under pressure