Meaning & use
confer
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitiveformal
To talk with others, usually seriously, before making a decision or giving advice.
Grammar: No object; used with with or about: confer with colleagues.
Patterns
- confer with someone
- confer about something
The judges conferred briefly before announcing the winner.
I need to confer with my lawyer before I sign.
The doctors conferred about the best treatment.
verbtransitiveformal
To officially give a title, honor, degree or advantage to someone.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with on: confer a degree on someone.
Patterns
- confer something on someone
- confer something upon someone
The university conferred an honorary degree on the author.
The king conferred the title of knight on him.
Membership confers certain rights on every citizen.
Word forms
| third person singular | confers |
|---|---|
| past tense | conferred |
| past participle | conferred |
| -ing form | conferring |
Common combinations
- confer with
- The manager conferred with her team.
- confer a degree
- The college will confer degrees in May.
- confer an honor
- The government conferred an honor on the nurse.
- confer status
- Marriage did not confer citizenship automatically.
- confer privately
- The two lawyers conferred privately in the hallway.
- confer an advantage
- Speaking two languages confers many advantages.
Synonyms and how they differ
- consult
- Consult usually means asking an expert for advice, while confer means discussing as equals.
- discuss
- Discuss is everyday and takes a direct object, while confer is formal and intransitive.
- bestow
- Bestow is a more formal word for giving something as a gift or honor, and sounds grander than confer.
- grant
- Grant is a more general word for giving permission or a right, whereas confer suggests an official act.
Opposites
Word family
- conference noun
- a formal meeting for discussion
- conferral noun
- the act of officially giving a title or degree
- conferment noun
- the granting of an honor
- conferee noun
- someone who takes part in a conference
Commonly confused: confer or conform? confer or infer?
confer vs conform
Conform means to follow rules or standards, while confer means to discuss or to grant.
confer vs infer
Infer means to work out a conclusion from evidence and is not about discussion.
Practice
The two lawyers stepped aside to ______ with each other about the settlement.
Choose one answer.
Confer with means to discuss with. Bestow takes a direct object and cannot be followed by with each other in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “confer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.