From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Confirm \Con*firm"\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Confrmed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confirming}.] [OE. confermen, confirmen, OF. confermer, F. confirmer, fr. L. confirmare; con- + firmare to make firm, fr. firmus firm. See {Firm}.]
1. To make firm or firmer; to add strength to; to establish; as, health is confirmed by exercise.
Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs. --Shak.
And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law. --Ps. cv. 10.
2. To strengthen in judgment or purpose.
Confirmed, then, I resolve Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe. --Milton.
3. To give new assurance of the truth of; to render certain; to verify; to corroborate; as, to confirm a rumor.
Your eyes shall witness and confirm my tale. --Pope.
These likelihoods confirm her flight. --Shak.
4. To render valid by formal assent; to complete by a necessary sanction; to ratify; as, to confirm the appoinment of an official; the Senate confirms a treaty.
That treaty so prejudicial ought to have been remitted rather than confimed. --Swift.
5. (Eccl.) To administer the rite of confirmation to. See {Confirmation}, 3.
Those which are thus confirmed are thereby supposed to be fit for admission to the sacrament. --Hammond.
Syn: To strengthen; corroborate; substantiate; establish; fix; ratify; settle; verify; assure.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
verb
1: establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; "his story confirmed my doubts"; "The evidence supports the defendant" [syn: {corroborate}, {sustain}, {substantiate}, {support}, {affirm}] [ant: {negate}]
2: strengthen or make more firm; "The witnesses confirmed the victim's account" [syn: {reassert}]
3: make more firm; "Confirm thy soul in self-control!"
4: as of a person to a position; "The Senate confirmed the President's candidate for Secretary of Defense"
5: administer the rite of confirmation to; "the children were confirmed in their mother's faith"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
204 Moby Thesaurus words for "confirm": OK, accede, accept, acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, accredit, accustom, acquiesce, adapt, addict, adjust, administer the Eucharist, affirm, amen, anoint, approve, assay, assent, assure, attest, audit, authenticate, authorize, autograph, back, back up, be sponsor for, bear out, bed, beef up, bind, bolster, bond, brace, brace up, break, break in, bring to test, buttress, case harden, certify, check, check and doublecheck, check out, check over, chrism, circumstantiate, clinch, collate, condition, consent, corroborate, cosign, countersecure, countersign, cross-check, cut and try, deep-dye, define, do duty, document, domesticate, domesticize, double-check, embed, encourage, endorse, engraft, engrave, ensure, entrench, essay, establish, etch, experiment, familiarize, fix, fortify, found, gentle, gird, give a try, give a tryout, give permission, give the go-ahead, give the imprimatur, give thumbs up, ground, guarantee, guaranty, habituate, harden, have a go, housebreak, impact, implant, impose, impress, imprint, infix, ingrain, initial, inscribe, insure, inure, invigorate, jam, justify, lay hands on, lodge, make good, minister, naturalize, nerve, notarize, officiate, orient, orientate, pack, painstakingly match, pass, pass on, pass upon, perform a rite, perform service, permit, plant, play around with, practice upon, print, probate, prop, prove, put to trial, ratify, recheck, recognize, refresh, reinforce, reinvigorate, research, restrengthen, road-test, root, rubber stamp, run a sample, sample, sanction, say amen to, scrutinize comparatively, seal, season, seat, second, secure, set, set in, settle, shake down, shore up, sign, sign and seal, sign for, sponsor, stamp, stand behind, stand up for, steel, stereotype, stiffen, strengthen, subscribe, subscribe to, substantiate, support, sustain, swear and affirm, swear to, take to, tame, taste, temper, test, toughen, train, triple-check, try, try it on, try out, undergird, underpin, undersign, underwrite, uphold, validate, verify, visa, vise, vouch, warrant, wedge, witness, wont
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