confer vs bestow
Hello!

I still can't see the difference between these two words. I've read some dictionary entries and there's a mess in my head. I want to understand for myself what is the difference between confer and bestow. Could you give some nice and simple examples for me to see the difference?

Thank you!

Here's what one of my dictionaries says:
▪ confer (formal) to give someone an honour, a university degree, or the right or power to do something
▪ bestow (formal) to give someone something to show how much they are respected, for example an honour, a title, or a gift – a very formal use

Question

confer vs bestow
Hello!

I still can't see the difference between these two words. I've read some dictionary entries and there's a mess in my head. I want to understand for myself what is the difference between confer and bestow. Could you give some nice and simple examples for me to see the difference?

Thank you!

Here's what one of my dictionaries says:
▪ confer (formal) to give someone an honour, a university degree, or the right or power to do something
▪ bestow (formal) to give someone something to show how much they are respected, for example an honour, a title, or a gift – a very formal use

Answer

The President conferred upon the Prime Minister the formation of the cabinet.
(Which means the President formally put the PM in charge of it)

You can also use confer in order to say discuss:

The members of the constitutional assembly conferred with each other throughout the summer to reach the necessary agreements.

Bestow:

With the power bestowed upon me by State law, I declare you a member of this council.

Answer

There is no particular difference between "bestow" and "confer."
Lemme clarify something here:   One small nuance would be:   when used of people,  " Confer "  means to give or grant something to someone  ... 
The thing is that they are interchangeable.  They convey the same meaning but it depends on the context as well.

The term "confer" means consulting with another person. Its second meaning is "  bestow "  which is all about providing someone with something or giving someone something like a medal. 
It's been claimed by some sources that the term  "  Confer "  is kinda obsolete but I'm not sure since I still hear people use it.