different between vouch vs confirm

English

Etymology

From Middle English vouchen, that borrowed from Old French voucher, from Latin voc?re, present active infinitive of voc?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?va?t?/
• Rhymes: -a?t?

Verb

vouch (third-person singular simple present vouches, present participle vouching, simple past and past participle vouched)

1. To take responsibility for; to express confidence in; to witness; to obtest.
2. To warrant; to maintain by affirmations

   Synonyms: attest, affirm, avouch

   • October 28, 1705, Francis Atterbury, a sermon

     They made him ashamed first to vouch the truth of the relation, and afterwards to credit it.
3. To back; to support; to confirm.
4. To call into court to warrant and defend, or to make good a warranty of title.
5. (obsolete) To call; to summon.
   • 1531, Thomas Elyot, The Boke named the Governour

     [They] vouch (as I might say) to their aid the authority of the writers.

6. To bear witness; to give testimony or full attestation.
7. To call as a witness.
8. To assert; to aver; to declare.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Related terms

• avouch

Translations

Noun

vouch (plural vouches)

1. Warrant; attestation.

English

Alternative forms

• confirme (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English confirmen, confermen, from Old French confermer, from Latin confirm?re (“to make firm, strenghten, establish”), from com- (“together”) + firmare (“to make firm”), from firmus (“firm”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /k?n?f??m/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /k?n?f?m/
• Rhymes: -??(?)m
• Hyphenation: con?firm

Verb

confirm (third-person singular simple present confirms, present participle confirming, simple past and past participle confirmed)

1. To strengthen; to make firm or resolute.
2. (transitive, Christianity) To administer the sacrament of confirmation on (someone).
   • 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society 2012, p. 35:

     Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII, was baptized and confirmed at the age of three days.

3. To assure the accuracy of previous statements.

Synonyms

• (strengthen): See also Thesaurus:strengthen

Antonyms

• infirm
• disconfirm
• deny
• dispute
• contradict
• question

Related terms

• confirmability
• confirmation

Translations

See also

• verify
• corroborate
• establish
• prove

Further reading

• confirm in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• confirm in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• confirm at OneLook Dictionary Search