Definitions for confer
kənˈfɜrcon·fer

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.5 / 2 votes

1. confer, confabulate, confab, consultverb

   have a conference in order to talk something over

   "We conferred about a plan of action"

2. confer, bestowverb

   present

   "The university conferred a degree on its most famous former student, who never graduated"; "bestow an honor on someone"

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. conferverb

   To compare.

2. conferverb

   To talk together, to consult, discuss; to deliberate.

3. conferverb

   To bring together; to collect, gather.

4. conferverb

   To grant as a possession; to bestow.

5. conferverb

   To contribute (to); to conduce.

6. Etymology: From confero.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To Conferverb

   1. To compare; to examine by comparison with other things of the same kind.

   The words in the 8th verse, conferred with the same words in the 20th, make it manifest. Walter Raleigh, History of the World.

   If we confer these observations with others of the like nature, we may find cause to rectify the general opinion. Boyle.

   Pliny conferring his authors, and comparing their works together, found those that went before transcribed by those that followed. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours, b. i. c 6.

   2. To give; to bestow; with on before him who receives the gift.

   Rest to the limbs, and quiet I confer
   On troubled minds. Edmund Waller.

   The conferring this honour upon him would increase the credit he had. Edward Hyde, b. viii.

   Coronation to a king, confers no royal authority upon him. South.

   There is not the least intimation in scripture of this privilege conferred upon the Roman church. John Tillotson.

   Thou conferrest the benefits, and he receives them; the first produces love, and the last ingratitude. John Arbuthnot, Hist. of J. Bull.

   3. To contribute; to conduce. With to.

   The closeness and compactness of the parts resting together, doth much confer to the strength of the union. Joseph Glanvill.

2. To CONFERverb

   To discourse with another upon a stated subject; to ventilate any question by oral discussion; to converse solemnly; to talk gravely together; to compare sentiments.

   Etymology: confero, Lat. conferer, French.

   You will hear us confer of this, and by an auricular assurance have your satisfaction. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   Reading makes a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man; and therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Francis Bacon.

   When they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves. Acts, iv. 15.

   He was thought to confer with the lord Colepeper upon the subject; but had some particular thoughts, upon which he then conferred with nobody. Edward Hyde, b. viii.

   The Christian princess in her tent confers
   With fifty of your learn’d philosophers;
   Whom with such eloquence she does persuade,
   That they are captives to her reasons made. John Dryden, Tyr. Love.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. confer

   The abbreviation cf. (short for the Latin: confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that cf. be used only to suggest a comparison, and the word "see" be used to point to a source of information.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Conferverb

   to bring together for comparison; to compare

2. Conferverb

   to grant as a possession; to bestow

3. Conferverb

   to contribute; to conduce

4. Conferverb

   to have discourse; to consult; to compare views; to deliberate

5. Etymology: [L. conferre to bring together, contribute, consult; con- + ferre to bear: cf. F. confrer. See 1st Bear.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Confer

   kon-fėr′, v.t. to give or bestow: to compare (notes), collate—abbrev. cf.—v.i. to talk or consult together:—pr.p. confer′ring; pa.p. conferred′.—ns. Conferee′, one conferred with; Con′ference, the act of conferring: an appointed meeting for instruction or discussion.—adjs. Conferen′tial; Confer′rable.—n. Confer′rer, one who confers. [Fr.,—L. conferre—con, together, ferre, to bring.]

CrunchBaseRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Confer

   Confer streamlines the communication process with Enterprise 2.0 conventions like micro-blogging, social networking, tagging, and instant secure chat.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CONFER

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Confer is ranked #8951 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Confer surname appeared 3,657 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Confer.
   
   93.3% or 3,413 total occurrences were White.
   2% or 73 total occurrences were Black.
   1.8% or 69 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.4% or 53 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   0.8% or 30 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
   0.5% or 19 total occurrences were Asian.

Matched Categories

1. • Award
   • Discuss

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'confer' in Verbs Frequency: #955

How to pronounce confer?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say confer in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of confer in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of confer in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of confer in a Sentence

1. The Talmud:

   Be cautious in your intercourse with the great; they seldom confer obligations on their inferiors but from interested motives. Friendly they appear as long as it serves their turn, but they will render no assistance in time of actual need.

2. W. Somerset Maugham:

   I do not confer praise or blame I accept. I am the measure of all things. I am the centre of the world.

3. Burton:

   Every man knows his own but not others? defects and miseries; and ?tis the nature of all men still to reflect upon themselves their own misfortunes, not to examine or consider other men?s, not to confer themselves with others; to recount their own miseries but not their good gifts, fortunes, benefits which they have, to ruminate on their adversity, but not once to think on their prosperity, not what they have but what they want.

4. Kensington Palace:

   The Queen has today been pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince Henry of Wales, his titles will be Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel. Prince Harry thus becomes His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex, and Ms. Meghan Markle on marriage will become Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.

5. Adam Schiff:

   The President has the constitutional authority to confer pardons and commutations, but that power is not unlimited, and was provided to remedy injustices, not to cover up for a president or shield The President from potential criminal liability.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=confer
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Confer
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=confer
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confer
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confer
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=confer
7. ^ CrunchBase
   https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/confer
8. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html