confiding

English

Etymology

By surface analysis, confide +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

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

Verb

confiding

1. present participle and gerund of confide

Adjective

confiding (comparative more confiding, superlative most confiding)

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. (birdwatching) Of a bird, allowing the close approach of humans.

Derived terms

• confidingly
• confidingness
• self-confiding
• unconfiding

 

Noun

confiding (plural confidings)

1. 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 […]