1
as in to grant
to give the ownership or benefit of (something) formally or publicly
the British monarch continues to confer knighthood on those who are outstanding in their fields of endeavor
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to consult
to exchange viewpoints or seek advice for the purpose of finding a solution to a problem
my parents are going to confer with a financial adviser about saving for their retirement
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confer
After briefly sitting down, Milwaukee’s All-Star forward walked back to the hallway leading to the locker room to confer with members of the training staff.
—
Eric Nehm, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
In the study, healthy donor T cells were gene‑edited to prevent them from attacking each other, reduce recognition by the patient’s immune system and confer resistance to specific drugs.
—William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumptions that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security — that assumption is no longer valid.
—Haley Ott, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
And Congress has done little to punish presidents who have acted in defiance of the 1973 resolution — perhaps in recognition of the broad powers conferred on the president by Article II of the Constitution.
—Sandeep Gopalan, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for confer
Eric Nehm, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
In the study, healthy donor T cells were gene‑edited to prevent them from attacking each other, reduce recognition by the patient’s immune system and confer resistance to specific drugs.
—William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumptions that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security — that assumption is no longer valid.
—Haley Ott, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
And Congress has done little to punish presidents who have acted in defiance of the 1973 resolution — perhaps in recognition of the broad powers conferred on the president by Article II of the Constitution.
—Sandeep Gopalan, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for confer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confer
Verb
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DeepSeek, Alibaba, and other Chinese tech giants ByteDance and Tencent have been granted conditional approvals by Beijing to purchase a certain amount of H200s, Reuters reported last month, citing anonymous sources.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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The blow was particularly devastating because the show has no big investors or grant financing, Smook said.—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, despite Forrest Gump’s insight about the unknowns inside every box of chocolates, some 43% of Americans do consult the guide that comes with most boxes before selecting a treat.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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Every player had chosen a new note, no one had consulted, and yet the sound was ringingly coherent.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, senior leaders at Arizona State University were quietly hosting 30 leaders from Korean technical colleges to discuss how the United States might learn from their success in developing an AI-ready workforce.—
David Ignatius,
Washington Post,
11 Feb. 2026
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Neither Iran nor Oman offered any details on what had been discussed in Larijani's meetings.—
JON GAMBRELL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Confer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confer. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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