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formerly followed by of, now commonly by in. Society is built upon trust, and trust upon confidence of one another's integrity. South. A cheerful confidence in the mercy of God. Macaulay.

Excessive confidence; too great reliance or trust.

The quality or state of being self-confident; self-reliance. A feeling of self-confidence which supported and sustained him. Beaconsfield.

Absence of confidence; uncertainty; doubt.

On tiptoe; eagerly expecting. We all feel a-tiptoe with hope and confidence. F. Harrison.

port, uphold, or aid; to maintain; -- in a good sense. [Obs.]. Our duty is urged, and our confidence abetted. Jer. Taylor.

Trust; reliance; faith; confidence. Such feelings promptly yielded to his habitual affiance in the divine love. Sir J. Stephen. Lancelot, my Lancelot, thou in whom I have Most joy and most affiance. Tennyson.

To assert positively; to tell with confidence; to aver; to maintain as true; -- opposed to deny. Jesus, . . . whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Acts xxv. 19.

The act of assuring; a declaration tending to inspire full confidence; that which is designed to give confidence. Whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Acts xvii. 31. Assurances of support came pouring in daily. Macaulay.

To declare to, solemnly; to assert to (any one) with the design of inspiring belief or confidence. I dare assure thee that no enemy Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus. Shak.

The state of being assured; certainty; full confidence.

That assures; tending to assure; giving confidence. -- As*sur"ing*ly, adv.

Daring spirit, resolution, or confidence; venturesomeness. The freedom and audacity necessary in the commerce of men. Tatler.

To affirm with confidence; to declare in a positive manner, as in confidence of asserting the truth. It is sufficient that the very fact hath its foundation in truth, as I do seriously aver is the case. Fielding. Then all averred I had killed the bird. Coleridge.

Capable of being avowed, or openly acknowledged, with confidence. Donne.

A hindrance or disappointment; a check. A balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker. South.

full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction; confidence; as, belief of a witness; the belief of our senses. Belief admits of all degrees, from the slightest suspicion to the fullest assurance. Reid.

or by circumstances other than personal knowledge; to regard or accept as true; to place confidence in; to think; to consider; as, to believe a person, a statement, or a doctrine. Our conqueror (whom I now Of force believe almighty). Milton. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets Acts xxvi. Often followed by a depe…

To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known. Willing to serve or betray any government for hire. Macaulay.

ey is better than sacrifice. 1 Sam. xv. 22. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Ps. cxviii. 9.