confirm and conform differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. confirm means “establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts”. conform means “be similar, be in line with”. confirm is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/kənˈfɝm/
1.v.establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
“his story confirmed my doubts”
2.v.strengthen or make more firm
“The witnesses confirmed the victim's account”
3.v.make more firm
“Confirm thy soul in self-control!”
/kənˈfɔɹm/
1.v.be similar, be in line with
2.v.adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions
“We must adjust to the bad economic situation”
| confirm | conform | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /kənˈfɝm/ | /kənˈfɔɹm/ |
| Said | kuhn-FURM | kuhn-FAWRM |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 7 | 7 |
| Parts of speech | verb | verb |
| Senses | 5 | 2 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | corroborate, sustain, substantiate | none recorded |
Full entry for confirm · Full entry for conform · More comparisons