con‧fi‧dence S2 W2 / kɒnfəd ə ns, kɒnfɪd ə ns $ kɑn- / 名词
1 feeling somebody/something is good [不可数名词] the feeling that you can trust someone or something to be good, work well, or produce good results
confidence in
Public confidence in the government is at an all-time low.
She had complete confidence in the doctors.
Opinion polls show that voters have lost confidence in the administration.
2 belief in yourself [不可数名词] the belief that you have the ability to do things well or deal with situations successfully
confidence in
I didn’t have any confidence in myself.
confidence to do something
Good training will give a beginner the confidence to enjoy skiing.
I felt I was doing well and my confidence began to grow.
with confidence
Our goal is to prepare students to go into the business world with confidence.
3 feeling something is true [不可数名词] the feeling that something is definite or true
say/speak/predict etc with confidence
How can anyone say with confidence that the recession is over?
confidence in
I have complete confidence in Mr Wright’s analysis of the situation.
have confidence (that)
I have every confidence that the job will be completed satisfactorily on time.
4 keep information secret [不可数名词] if you tell someone something in confidence, you tell them something on the understanding that they will not tell anyone else → confide
in confidence
I’ll tell you about Moira – in confidence, of course.
in strict/the strictest confidence
Any information given during the interview will be treated in the strictest confidence .
breach of confidence (= when someone tells someone something that they were told in confidence )
Lawyers are satisfied that no breach of confidence took place.
5 take somebody into your confidence to tell someone your secrets or private or personal details about your life :
Elsa took me into her confidence and told me about some of the problems she was facing.
6 a secret [可数名词] a secret or a piece of information that is private or personal
share/exchange confidences
They spent their evenings drinking wine and sharing confidences.
I have never betrayed a confidence .
→ vote of confidence , vote of no confidence
COLLOCATIONS
动词
have confidence in somebody/something The people no longer have any confidence in their government.
lose confidence in somebody/something Employees are losing confidence in the company.
gain/win sb’s confidence As team captain, he soon won the confidence of the players.
inspire confidence (= make people have confidence ) Our education system should inspire public confidence.
restore confidence (= make people have confidence again ) Interest rate reductions would restore business confidence.
boost confidence (= make people have more confidence ) The government is keen to boost consumer confidence and spending.
shake sb’s confidence (= make them have less confidence ) The stock market fall has shaken the confidence of investors.
undermine/damage/weaken sb’s confidence (= make someone have less confidence ) The situation in the US was undermining foreign confidence in the dollar.
destroy/shatter confidence in somebody/something A further crisis has destroyed public confidence in the bank.
短语
have every/complete/absolute confidence in somebody/something A manager must be able to have complete confidence in his staff.
a lack of confidence the public’s lack of confidence in the National Health Service
a crisis of confidence (= a situation in which people no longer trust a government, system etc ) the crisis of confidence over food safety
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + confidence
public confidence The changes should improve public confidence in the system.
consumer confidence (= that ordinary people have when the economic situation is good ) Consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest for two years.
business confidence (= that businesses have when the economic situation is good ) The region has gained 46,000 jobs and business confidence is high.
investor confidence (= that investors have when the economic situation is good ) A fall in the value of shares damages investor confidence.
COLLOCATIONS
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have confidence Young teenagers often don’t have a lot of confidence.
be full of confidence The team are full of confidence.
brim with confidence (= be full of it ) Clive walked into the room, brimming with confidence as usual.
exude/radiate confidence (= show it in a very noticeable way ) As the leader, you have to exude confidence and authority.
lack/be lacking in confidence She lacked the confidence to talk to people.
lose (your) confidence He’d been out of work for six months and had lost all his confidence.
give somebody confidence I had really good teachers who gave me a lot of confidence in myself.
gain confidence ( also grow/gain in confidence ) (= become more confident ) Paul did well in the job and gained a lot of confidence.
boost/increase sb’s confidence (= make someone feel more confident ) One of my stories was published, which really boosted my confidence.
build up sb’s confidence (= gradually increase it ) When you’ve had an accident, it takes a while to build up your confidence again.
undermine sb’s confidence (= gradually reduce it ) His constant criticism was undermining my confidence.
dent/shake sb’s confidence (= make it less strong ) A bad experience like that can dent your confidence.
destroy/shatter sb’s confidence When she failed her degree, it shattered her confidence.
sb’s confidence grows/increases Since she started her new school, her confidence has grown a lot.
名词
a confidence boost They offered me the job immediately, which was a real confidence boost.
confidence building (= making it develop ) Training for a big match is all about confidence building.
短语
a lack of confidence She had always suffered from insecurity and a lack of confidence.
a loss of confidence As people age, they may suffer from a loss of confidence.
THESAURUS
confidence the feeling that you have the ability to do things well, and to not make mistakes or be nervous in new situations : You need patience and confidence to be a good teacher. | have the confidence to do something : ‘We have the confidence to beat Brazil,’ said Sampson. | After the accident it took a long time before she had the confidence to get back in a car again. | full of confidence (= very confident ) : I went into the test full of confidence, but it was more difficult than I had imagined.
self-confidence a strong belief that you can do things well and that other people will like you, which means you behave confidently in most situations : He’s new in the job but he has plenty of self-confidence. | Studies show that girls tend to lose some of their self-confidence in their teenage years. | Students who get some kind of work experience develop greater self-confidence and better communication skills.
morale the level of confidence, satisfaction, and hope that people feel, especially a group of people who work together : low/high morale : Morale among the soldiers has been low. | keep up morale (= keep it at a high level ) : They sang songs to keep up their morale until the rescuers arrived.
assurance/self-assurance a feeling of calm confidence in your own abilities, especially because you have a lot of experience : She envied the older woman’s assurance. | Danby spoke to the committee with the self-assurance of an expert.
self-esteem the feeling that you are someone who deserves to be liked and respected : Getting a job did a lot for her self-esteem. | Sports should build a child’s self-esteem, not damage it.