Confessional

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /kənˈfɛʃənəl/

Definitions

1. A small enclosed booth used for confessing sins in certain religious traditions ; connected to the act of admitting faults or making a confession
2. An enclosed space designed for individuals to disclose sins privately ; pertaining to the process of revealing personal faults or admissions
3. A compartment for private confession in some churches ; relating to expressing or acknowledging mistakes or secrets openly

Etymology: The adjective "confessional" is built from "confession" plus the suffix "-al", which came into English through Middle English from Latin "-alis", meaning "pertaining to". The noun sense, the small enclosed booth where a priest hears confession, was borrowed from French "confessionnal", a word that carries the same idea of a place of confessing. The English adjective and noun seem to have been formed by shaping the French term into English, so the booth and the act of baring one's faults share a single root in "confess". The noun, in other words, is named for what happens inside it rather than for the furniture itself.

Synonyms: admission, declaration, testimony, disclosure, revelation

Antonyms: concealment, silence, secrecy, denial, disavowal