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Which prepositions does Confide in English go with? All the knowledge about Confide in English

When we want to tell someone about a secret or private matter in English, we use the verb Confide. Besides its primary meaning, does Confide have any other uses? Which prepositions does Confide in English go with? What are the differences between Confide in, Confide to, and Confide in to? How can we accurately distinguish Confide, Confess, and Confine? Let's find the answers with PREP below!

I. What is Confide in English?

Let's explore the definition of Confide in English with PREP before delving into synonyms, antonyms, and prepositions that Confide in English goes with!

In English, Confide is pronounced /kənˈfaɪd/ and functions as a verb with the meaning: to tell someone about a secret or private matter while trusting them not to repeat it to others. For example:

Jack confided to the manager that the report was not his own.
“My husband doesn't know yet, but I'm going to leave him,” Anna confided.

II. Synonyms and antonyms of Confide in English

Let’s take a look at the list of synonyms and antonyms of Confide in English that PREP shares below!

Synonyms, antonyms of Confide in English	Example
Synonyms of Confide in English
Tell secretly	Jessica told secretly her best friend about her crush on Daniel.
Tell privately	Peter told his sister privately about his plans to quit his job.
Reveal	The detective revealed the suspect's alibi during the interrogation.
Disclose	The company CEO disclosed the upcoming merger plans to the board of directors.
Make known	The scientist made known his groundbreaking discovery to the scientific community.
Antonyms of Confide in English
Keep one's own counsel	Despite the pressure, Lona decided to keep her own counsel about her future plans.
Keep secret	Jack promised to keep secret the surprise party plans for his friend's birthday.
Remain silent	When asked about the incident, Jackson chose to remain silent rather than share any information.
Keep mum	The children promised to keep mum about their father's surprise gift for their mother.

III. Which prepositions does Confide in English go with? The usage of Confide in English

Which prepositions does Confide in English go with? How is Confide in English used? Refer to the table below:

Structure of Confide in English	Example
Subject + confide + to somebody + that + clause	Anna confided to me that she hated me before.
Subject + confide + something + to somebody	Jennie confided all her worries to me.
“Speech”, Subject + Confide in somebody	“I lied to my mom about getting good grades in Math at school,” Peter confided in me.

From the third structure in the table above, we can easily answer the question "Which prepositions does Confide in English go with?" right?

Confide goes with the prepositions "in" and "to" (somebody) and means: to tell somebody secrets and personal information that you do not want other people to know. For example:

Annie is a good friend that you can confide in.
Richard confided the ups and downs he had come through during the past few years to me.

Which prepositions does Confide in English go with?

IV. Distinguishing Confide in and Confide to

Confide in and Confide to both contain the word Confide, but they have different meanings. Let's explore them with PREP below!

	Confide in	Confide to
Structure	Confide in someone	Confide something to someone or Confide to someone that
Meaning	To trust someone when revealing secrets or personal matters.	To disclose a secret or private matter to someone, believing that person will not reveal the secret.
Example	Anna confided in her friend about smoking cigarettes last night.	Anna confided all her secrets to her friend.

V. Distinguishing Confide, Confess, and Confine

Confide, Confine, and Confess are often confused in terms of usage. Let's explore the differences between these three words with PREP!

	Confide	Confess	Confine
Meaning	To tell someone about a secret or private matter while trusting them not to repeat it to others.	To admit or state that one has committed a crime or is at fault in some way.	To keep or restrict someone or something within certain limits of (space, scope, quantity, or time).
Example	Kaylie confided to her husband that she had lost 1 million dollars.	Kaylie confessed to her husband that she had sold her wedding ring.	We know that the illness is not confined to any one group in society.

IV. Exercises on Confide in English

To further understand the meaning and prepositions that accompany Confide in English, let's complete the exercise below with PREP!

1. Exercises

Exercise 1: Find and correct the errors in the sentences below

Jame confided in his parents that he had applied for another job.
Maria is a reliable person, you can confide her secrets to her.
I feel very comfortable when I confide my secret in my mom.
Jenny’s husband is not trustworthy to confide to.
Jame said all his secrets to his girlfriend

Exercise 2: Fill in prepositions in the blanks below

Anna's husband confided _______ his friend that he broke her lipstick.
Jack can't confide _______ Marry because they aren't close enough.
Anna confided _______ the doctor that she was too tired of her married life.
"We have a surprise for you," the student confided _______ the teacher.
Because Lona is very patient, I can confide _______ her.

2. Answer

Exercise 1	1. in ➡ to	2. her (secrets) ➡ your	3. in ➡ to	4. to ➡ in	5. said ➡ confined
Exercise 2	1. to	2. in	3. to	4. to	5. in

PREP hopes that through this article, you have understood what Confide in English is, which prepositions it goes with, the differences between Confide in and Confide to, as well as the distinctions in usage between Confide, Confess, and Confine. Let’s follow PREP for more useful information!

Master Tu Pham

Founder/CEO at Prep

Founder of Prep Smart Test Preparation Platform. With over 10 years of experience in teaching and test preparation, Mr. Tú has helped thousands of students achieve high scores in the IELTS exam. In addition, Mr. Tú Phạm is also a consulting expert in British Council programs and a speaker at many leading educational events, programs, and conferences.