Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
confidant, confidante (nn.), confident (adj.)
Confidant is generic, meaning either a male or a female in whom one confides; confidante is used only of females. The nouns are pronounced either KAHN-fi-DAHNT or KAHN-fi-DAHNT. Confident (KAHN-fi-dent) is the adjective, and its unstressed final syllable is spelled -ent, not -ant.
