of a profession or group ( ff ik ^ @3 f£ ) ^      : the

annual movie confab in Cannes confabulation /kan.faebja'leijn/ noun [C, U] {format)

1                  a story that sb has invented in their mind; the act of inventing a story in your mind fig ^ (ft ^ ; M $1

2                  a conversation; the activity of having a conversation

i2f;

con fec tion /kon'fekjn/ noun 1 (formal) a cake or other sweet food that looks very attractive C ISJtiAAW ) Stf jrC , Stf H: 2 a thing such as a building or piece of clothing, that is made in a skilful or complicated way

(znmm&Ms)

confectioner /kan'fekjan^r)/ noun a person or a business that makes or sells cakes and sweets/candy

StfM

con.fectioner’s 'custard noun [u] a soft thick sub­stance that is used in cakes and desserts (= sweet

dishes) (m=fm&y

confectioner’s sugar noun [U] (US) = icing sugar con fec tion ery /kan'fekjanari; NAmE -Janeri/ noun [u] sweets/candy, chocolate, etc. Sk# ( MX.   )

con-fed-er-acy /kan'fedarasi/ noun 1 [C] a union of states, groups of people or political parties with the same aim [tHS; 2 the Confederacy [sing.]

= Confederate States con fed er ate /kan'fedarat/ noun, adj. m noun a person who helps sb, especially to do sth illegal or secret |w]i$; |WJfA; /A<fE; f£fE BOGS accomplice m adj. belonging to a confederacy frf; [W] M

nw

the Confederate 'States noun [pi.] (also the Con­federacy [sing.]) the eleven southern states of the US which left the United States in 1860-1, starting the American Civil War ( US )  ( 1860- 1861 ^

li )

con-fed-er-ation /kan.feda'reijn/ noun 1 an organiza­tion consisting of countries, businesses, etc. that have joined together in order to help each other $£§; j£: the Confederation of British Industry |I] likK n" 2 Confederation (in Canada) the joining together of provinces and territories forming Canada, which began 1 July, 1867        ( fk 1867 X 7 R 1 0 jg

confer /kan'f3:(r)/ verb (-rr-j (formal) 1 [V] ~ (with sb) (on/about sth) to discuss sth with sb, in order to exchange opinions or get advice At; tfr $h 35M. JE : He wanted to confer with his colleagues before reaching a decision.          ^

o 2 [VN] ~ sth (on/upon sb) to give sb an award, a university degree or a particular honour or right tfX (          ) : An honorary degree was

conferred on him by Oxford University in 2001.

X 2001

con fer ence /'kDnfarans; NAmE 'ka:n-/ noun 1 a large official meeting, usually lasting for a few days, at which people with the same work or interests come together to discuss their views ( ii # j# ^ /l X M A 1! IE A ) £        , ®F if £ : The hotel is used for

exhibitions, conferences and social events, li M

A SI   35 o o a conference

room/centre/hall       I f IT O She is attending a

three-day conference on AIDS education. MIE# X o The conference will be held in Glasgow.     o delegates

to the Labour Party’s annual conference #jjP X X A W ft ^ 2 a meeting at which people have formal discussions (     ) AfiEA, ]8jAfA: Ministers from all

four countries involved will meet at the conference table this week.        0 He

was in conference with his lawyers all day. fife A; life £/j W W fTl M if T ~ 21X o — see also press conference

3                  (especially NAmE!) a group of sports teams that play

against each other in a league f^WMlA ( ) :

Southeast Conference football champions %         SI

mmmm

'conference caiH noun a telephone call in which three or more people take part AU^AiA

conferencing /‘knnfaransir); NAmE 'ka:n-/ noun the activity of organizing or taking part in meetings, espe­cially when people are in different places and use telephones, computers, or video to communicate H

AiA, #XoAiA ( XXIffeiS, MsSMlAiA): Video conferencing QffWfo&iX

con fer ment /ken'faimant; NAmE -'f3:rm-/ noun [u, C]

(formal) the action of giving sb an award, a university degree or a particular honour or right (     #fv,

WtiL

confess /kan'fes/ verb 1 ~ (to sth/to doing sth) to admit, especially formally or to the police, that you have done sth wrong or illegal ftfeiA, tfifi, XiA ( 2IBA ) ; [V] She confessed to the murder. MftUAfET ffc H „ o After hours of questioning, the suspect confessed. i&UQuo [V (that)] He confessed that he had stolen the money. fife^iA fife# 6 [VN] We persuaded her to confess her

crime.         ffl ijE J$ ftfe S&M W ff 0 2 ~ (to sth/to doing

sth) to admit sth that you feel ashamed or embarrassed about l^iA ( i          ) : [VN] She was

reluctant to confess her ignorance. M XJ5 M iA M ft fil 0 o [V] I must confess to knowing nothing about computers. fScjf^iAZfo [VN-ADJ] (formal) I confess myself bewildered by their explanation. ficlpciA ftfefHW^MficiiMiJffl^o [also V (that), V speech] —see also self-confessed o note at ADMIT 3 [V, VN] ~ (sth) (to sb) (especially in the Roman Catholic Church ft fa 3?

to tell God or a priest about the bad things you have done so that you can say that you are sorry and be forgiven      #§P;  4 [VN]

(of a priest #3t) to hear sb confess their sins (= the bad things they have done) ^-n/f (         ) W'lf1§ (

P. )

con-fes-sion /kan'fejn/ noun 1 [C, U] a statement that a person makes, admitting that they are guilty of a crime; the act of making such a statement ii];

^; iA H ; f£iA; #1   : After hours of questioning by

police, she made a full confession,      f f

^ fnj", M X iA iA T ^        ¥ fT o 2 [C, U] a statement

admitting sth that you are ashamed or embarrassed about; the act of making such a statement ( Xfife g B , ^iA H23 admission: I’ve a confession to make—I lied about my age. ?JcfT iflcTp:

iA       f£iiJUT3 [U, C] (especially in the Roman

Catholic Church  private statement

to a priest about the bad things that you have done (          to go to confession

0 to hear sb’s confession ofrM A-aM 4 [C] (formal) a statement of your religious beliefs, principles, etc.' ( ^ $Xj ) fMPAfi: a confession of faith          ftp A 6

con-fes-sion-al /kan'fejanl/ noun a private place in a church where a priest listens to people making confessions (   |#j )

con-fes-sor /kan'fes0(r)/ noun a Roman Catholic priest who listens to confessions

con-fetti /kan'feti/ noun [U] small pieces of coloured paper that people often throw at weddings over people who have just been married, or (in the US) at other special events (

con-fi-ciant (feminine also confidante) /'knnfidaent; ,knnfi'da:nt; NAmE ‘karnfidaent/ noun a person that you trust and who you talk to about private or secret things (        a close/trusted confi­dant of the President  / ^fg

con-fide /kan'faid/ verb ~ (sth) (to sb) to tell sb secrets and personal information that you do not want other people to know (        ) ttflE ( HiX    ) : [VN]

She confided all her secrets to her best friend. itfe[^MS^ 1XW)MU(m±T B  o [v that] He confided

to me that he had applied for another job. ftfe[6]|!cMi?ftfe ff)-X#0 [also V speech]       con'fide in

sb to tell sb secrets and personal information because you feel you can trust them fo](iAAlWfsMWA) MM IPtXABIXA ) : It is important to have someone you can confide in. fvXfftfflEfitJrlA