1. An admission of misdeeds or faults
   "The criminal's confession led to his arrest"
    
2. (Roman Catholic Church) the act of a penitent disclosing their sinfulness before a priest in the sacrament of penance in the hope of absolution
   "Weekly confession is a common practice for devout Catholics"; "The privacy of the confessional allows for open and honest confession"
    
3. A written document acknowledging an offence and signed by the guilty party
   "The suspect's confession detailed his involvement in the crime"
    
4. A public declaration of your faith
   "He made a confession of his Christian beliefs"
    
5. The document that spells out the belief system of a given church (especially the Reformation churches of the 16th century)
   "The Lutheran Confession of Augsburg articulated the core beliefs of the Protestant Reformation"

Derived forms: confessions

Type of: admission, church doctrine, creed, declaration, doc [informal], document, gospel, papers, penance, religious doctrine, written document

Encyclopedia: Confession, Sacrament of