confidante(常指女性)指“知己、密友、心腹”,尤其是可以放心倾诉秘密的人。(若不强调性别,也常见拼写 confidant。)
/ˌkɒn.fɪˈdænt/(英式)
/ˌkɑːn.fəˈdænt/(美式)
She is my confidante, and I tell her everything.
她是我的知己,我什么都告诉她。
In the pressure of the campaign, he relied on his longtime confidante to keep his doubts private and his resolve steady.
在竞选的压力之下,他依靠多年的知己把疑虑藏在心里,并保持坚定的决心。
来自法语 confidente,源于拉丁语 confidere(“信任、依赖”),由 **con-**(“共同、完全”)+ fidere(“信任”)构成。该词的核心含义一直围绕“把秘密托付给值得信任的人”。