Confession Common

an admission of misdeeds or faults

"After weeks of silence, he finally made his confession to the detective about stealing the money."

a written document acknowledging an offense and signed by the guilty party

"The judge dismissed his plea for leniency because he refused to submit the required confession as proof of his guilt."

(Roman Catholic Church) the act of a penitent disclosing his sinfulness before a priest in the sacrament of penance in the hope of absolution

"After hours of prayer, he finally made his confession to the priest, hoping for forgiveness."

a public declaration of your faith

"At midnight, he made his confession by kneeling in front of the altar and reciting the creed aloud before the entire congregation."

the document that spells out the belief system of a given church (especially the Reformation churches of the 16th century)

"The historian spent hours analyzing the original confession to understand how early Protestant churches defined their core doctrines."

The open admittance of having done something (especially something bad).

"After years of denying it, his confession finally admitted that he had been stealing from the office fund for over a year."