confiding

/kənˈfaɪdɪŋ/

confiding is the present participle and gerund of confide.

Adjective

confiding (comparative more confiding, superlative most confiding)

Having or showing confidence or trust in another person.
- Effingham was by nature indolent, confiding, and, at times, impetuous and indiscreet; but Marmaduke was uniformly equable, penetrating, and full of activity and enterprise.1825, James Fenimore Cooper, The Pioneers: Or, the Sources of the Susquehanna, page 41
- Those eyes especially struck Eugene, and when he thought of Liza he always saw those clear, mild, confiding eyes.2012, Leo Tolstoy, Family Happiness and Other Stories, page 95
In confidence; as if with trust.
- 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.1807, Cobbett's Political Register - Volume 11, page 293
- 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 ;1834, Biblical Repository and Classical Review, page 595
Of a bird, allowing the close approach of humans.

confide (third-person singular simple present confides, present participle confiding, simple past and past participle confided)

(archaic, intransitive) To trust or have faith (in).
- I confide in her judgement in this matter.
(intransitive) To take (someone) into one's confidence; to speak in secret with.
- I could no longer keep this secret alone; I had to confide in my brother.
(dated, transitive) To entrust (something) to the responsibility of someone.
- I confide this mission to you alone.
(intransitive, transitive) To say (something) in confidence.
- After several drinks, I confided my problems to the barman.

confiding (plural confidings)

The telling of something in confidence.
- 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[…]1841, Absalom Peters, Selah B. Treat, The American Eclectic, volume 1, page 141

By surface analysis, confide + -ing.

31 more rhymesFewer rhymes

What does confiding mean?: Confiding means having or showing confidence or trust in another person.
What is confiding the present participle and gerund of?: Confiding is the present participle and gerund of confide.
What part of speech is confiding?: Confiding can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce confiding?: Confiding is pronounced /kənˈfaɪdɪŋ/.

Adapted from Wiktionary: confiding (page history and authors); confide (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “confiding.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/confiding. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.