confiding

English edit

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): /kənˈfaɪdɪŋ/
Rhymes: -aɪdɪŋ

Verb edit

confiding

present participle and gerund of confide

Adjective edit

confiding (comparative more confiding, superlative most confiding)

Having or showing confidence or trust in another person.
- 1825, James Fenimore Cooper, The Pioneers: Or, the Sources of the Susquehanna, page 41:
  Effingham was by nature indolent, confiding, and, at times, impetuous and indiscreet; but Marmaduke was uniformly equable, penetrating, and full of activity and enterprise.
- 2012, Leo Tolstoy, Family Happiness and Other Stories, page 95:
  Those eyes especially struck Eugene, and when he thought of Liza he always saw those clear, mild, confiding eyes.
- 2014, Stevan E. Hobfoll, Stress, Social Support, And Women:
  Not having a confiding relationship with one's husband was, however, associated with elevated risk for symptoms of anxiety.
In confidence; as if with trust.
- 1807, Cobbett's Political Register - Volume 11, page 293:
  Sir, they must surely entertain a higher opinion of the credulity of this house, than -- even their recent experience can justify, if they think that their confiding talent will be carried to this length.
- 1834, Biblical Repository and Classical Review, page 595:
  It might be sufficient, perhaps, to refer only to that trait of frank, confiding generosity, which could overlook all injuries and embrace even former enemies as friends ; as in the case of Saul above referred to ;
- 1840, Theodore Edward Hook, Cousin Geoffrey, the old bachelor, page 129:
  Juliet raised her eyes with confiding tenderness ; there was no interrogation in their glance, yet Montague wished to speak ; his heart was too full for words.
- 2014, John Edward Terrell, A Talent for Friendship: Rediscovery of a Remarkable Trait:
  He defines tie strength in a fairly intuitive way as the amount of time as well as the emotional intensity and intimacy (in a confiding sense, rather than a sexual one, although I don't think he rules out the latter) devoted to our relationships, as well as the mutual benefits characterizing our dealings with other people.
(birdwatching) Of a bird, allowing the close approach of humans.

Derived terms edit

Noun edit

confiding (plural confidings)

The telling of something in confidence.
- 1841, Absalom Peters, Selah B. Treat, The American Eclectic, volume 1, page 141:
  We see Washington by the fireside, upon the farm, amid the interchanges of friendship and ordinary confidings, and as a citizen, as well as in the sphere of military contest, in the senate, or as a diplomatist […]