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
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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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Recent Examples of confer
Regularly eating a less nutritious breakfast (e.g., sugary cereal, pastries, or foods high in saturated fat, such as bacon and sausage) may not confer the same benefits.
—
Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 31 May 2025
Do beautiful images of an ugly thing risk conferring some sort of palatability to that ugliness?
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 25 May 2025
The authors previously were able to confer near-infrared vision to mice by injecting nanoparticles that bind to photoreceptors into their eyes—basically creating a near-infrared nanoantenna—but realized that most people would be averse to the prospect of sticking needles in their eyes.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 22 May 2025
Elite private universities confer undergraduate and graduate degrees and focus on research.
—Amy Li, The Conversation, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for confer
Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 31 May 2025
Do beautiful images of an ugly thing risk conferring some sort of palatability to that ugliness?
—Catherine Bray, Variety, 25 May 2025
The authors previously were able to confer near-infrared vision to mice by injecting nanoparticles that bind to photoreceptors into their eyes—basically creating a near-infrared nanoantenna—but realized that most people would be averse to the prospect of sticking needles in their eyes.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 22 May 2025
Elite private universities confer undergraduate and graduate degrees and focus on research.
—Amy Li, The Conversation, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for confer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confer
Verb
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The judge granted that additional time in the Tuesday ruling, giving the Administration until Wednesday to file its response and setting a hearing for the following day.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
11 June 2025
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The jump grants Swift her milestone fifteenth top 10 hit on the U.K. downloads tally.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
Verb
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They’ve even been known to consult a feng shui expert or two.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
8 June 2025
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But those who opt out, or were never consulted, get left behind.—
Virginie Berger,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
Verb
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Now seems like a good time to look at each one and discuss the highlights of the different articles, player options and plug in rules on display in each.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
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Hegseth planned to appear before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, and acting Pentagon Comptroller Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell to discuss the administration's upcoming 2026 budget request.—
Anne Flaherty,
ABC News,
10 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confer. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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