confidence noun

1 belief in others

ADJ. absolute, complete, full, total The company needs the full confidence of its investors. | great, high, real Confidence is high among the team's supporters. | reasonable | growing, increased, increasing | new, renewed | misplaced The general's confidence in his army proved misplaced. | international | popular, public public confidence in the government | business, consumer, customer, investor, market

VERB + CONFIDENCE enjoy, feel, have This government no longer enjoys the confidence of the public. We all have complete confidence in this product. | express He expressed confidence in the new plans. | be lacking in, lack | share She wished that she shared his confidence. | maintain, preserve to maintain public confidence in the system of justice | bolster, boost, build (up), enhance, improve, increase, lift, raise Higher profits should raise business confidence. | gain | command, create, develop, encourage, engender, generate, give (sb), inspire, instil The training is designed to give staff confidence in managing problems. The company's record does not really inspire confidence. | rebuild, restore, revive Only if the chairperson resigns will we be able to restore the confidence of our members. | lose This government has lost the confidence of the public. | damage, dent, sap, shake, undermine, weaken Only one bank scandal is needed to shake the confidence in the financial markets. | destroy, shatter

CONFIDENCE + VERB decrease | grow, increase, rise | return Confidence has returned to the market.

PREP. ~ about The captain was not lacking in confidence about his team's prospects. | ~ among a loss of confidence among investors | ~ between efforts to build confidence between employers and unions | ~ in They have no confidence in the legal system.

PHRASES a crisis of confidence There is a crisis of confidence in the university about its future role. | have every/little/no/some confidence The captain of the football team said he had every confidence in his men. | a lack of confidence, a loss of confidence, a vote of (no) confidence This is a tremendous vote of confidence for the government. | a (no) confidence motion/vote The government lost a parliamentary confidence vote.

2 belief in yourself

ADJ. considerable, enormous, great | sublime, supreme, tremendous, utter | added, extra | fresh, new-found | increased, increasing, growing | calm, quiet giving an outward appearance of quiet confidence | easy She spoke in a tone of easy confidence. | false All his false confidence had drained away. | inner, personal | social

VERB + CONFIDENCE have She has very little confidence in her own abilities. | show | feel ‘I can explain,’ he said, with a confidence he did not feel. | brim with, exude, be full of, ooze, radiate Since she got the new job, she's been brimming with confidence. a man who exudes confidence | be lacking in, lack A lot of children are lacking in confidence. | acquire, develop, gain, gather She's gained a lot of confidence over the last year. | grow in As the weeks went by he grew in confidence. | lose During his illness he really lost his confidence. | get back, rebuild, recover, regain, restore He's really striking the ball well and has got his confidence back. | bolster, boost, build (up), enhance Winning the competition really boosted her confidence. | give sb, instil to instil confidence in staff who feel nervous about taking on new roles | dent, sap, shake, undermine, weaken Failing his exams really dented his confidence. | destroy, shatter

CONFIDENCE + VERB drain (away), evaporate, go My confidence went completely after my first major defeat. | grow, increase, rise Their confidence grew with each success. | return

CONFIDENCE + NOUN boost, booster The home side badly need a confidence booster. | building Getting the certificate does a lot in terms of confidence building.

PREP. with ~ She answered the question with confidence. | ~ about I lacked confidence about how I looked | ~ in his confidence in himself

PHRASES a lack of confidence, a loss of confidence

3 trust

ADJ. absolute, complete, full, total | mutual

VERB + CONFIDENCE enjoy, have The Cabinet must enjoy the confidence of Parliament. | keep, retain | gain, get, win | build an environment which builds mutual confidence | betray, break | place, put Are we to place confidence in a minister who cannot remember a phone call he made last week? | withhold | take sb into She thought she might take Leo into her confidence.

CONFIDENCE + NOUN trick, trickster

PREP. in ~ She told me in confidence?I couldn't break that confidence, could I?

PHRASES a breach of confidence Telling other people what I'd said was a total breach of confidence. | in strict confidence Enquiries will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.

4 secret

ADJ. whispered

VERB + CONFIDENCE exchange, share The girls exchanged whispered confidences. | keep | betray I could never forgive Mike for betraying a confidence. | encourage, invite She didn't encourage confidences.

PHRASES an exchange of confidences

You can also check other dicts: confidence (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition

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