ADMIT, CONFESS

ADMIT, CONFESS

If you admit something bad, unpleasant, or embarrassing, you agree, usually rather reluctantly, that it is true. You can admit that something is true, admit something, or admit to something.

1. I would be forced to admit that I had used Ewen Waite’s gun.
2. He admitted that the mounting cost was a matter of serious concern.
3. Boylan began to play. Rudolph had to admit he played well.
4. Again the manufacturers, employers and government were reluctant to admit the danger.

She was obviously in considerable pain, but she wouldn’t admit it. She admits to being difficult to live with.

If you confess something, you say that you have done something you should not have done. Usually you feel regret or embarrassment when you confess something. You can confess that you have done something, confess something, or confess to someone.

5. Finally, the boy confessed that he had been lying throughout.
6. The mother could not be persuaded to confess her previous error.
7. It turned out that he’d confessed to Castle that he hadn’t gone to the dentist.
8. If someone confesses to something such as a crime, they say they did it.
9. Bianchi had confessed to five of the murders.
10. They confess to murders they haven’t committed.
11. Three days after Mr Profumo confessed and resigned, Stephen Ward was arrested.

You can also use both admit and confess in expressions like ‘I admit’, ‘I must admit’, ‘I confess’, and ‘I must confess’ when you mention a fact that embarrasses you slightly or that you think might upset the person you are speaking to.

12. Well, I’ll admit he seems harmless.
13. I have to admit that this has been only partially successful.
14. This is not a neat household, I confess.
15. I must confess that, to put it plainly, I find him a bore.