The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Confer \Con*fer"\, v. i.
   To have discourse; to consult; to compare views; to
   deliberate.
   [1913 Webster]

         Festus, when he had conferred with the council,
         answered.                                --Acts xxv.
                                                  12.
   [1913 Webster]

         You shall hear us confer of this.        --Shak.

   Syn: To counsel; advise; discourse; converse.
        [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Confer \Con*fer"\ (k[o^]n*f[~e]r"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   Conferred; p. pr. & vb. n. Conferring.] [L. conferre to
   bring together, contribute, consult; con- + ferre to bear:
   cf. F. conf['e]rer. See 1st Bear.]
   1. To bring together for comparison; to compare. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            If we confer these observations with others of the
            like nature, we may find cause to rectify the
            general opinion.                      --Boyle.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To grant as a possession; to bestow.
      [1913 Webster]

            The public marks of honor and reward
            Conferred upon me.                    --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To contribute; to conduce. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            The closeness and compactness of the parts resting
            together doth much confer to the strength of the
            union.                                --Glanvill.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

confer
    v 1: have a conference in order to talk something over; "We
         conferred about a plan of action" [syn: confer,
         confabulate, confab, consult]
    2: present; "The university conferred a degree on its most
       famous former student, who never graduated"; "bestow an honor
       on someone" [syn: confer, bestow]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

136 Moby Thesaurus words for "confer":
   abalienate, accord, administer, advise, advise with, advocate,
   afford, alien, alienate, allot, allow, amortize, argue, assign,
   award, bargain, barter, bequeath, bestow, bestow on, brief,
   call in, cede, chaffer, coach, collogue, communicate,
   compare notes, confab, confabulate, confer with, consign, consult,
   consult with, converse, convey, counsel, deal, deal out, debate,
   deed, deed over, deliberate, deliver, demise, devolve upon, direct,
   discuss, discuss with, dish out, dispense, dole, dole out, donate,
   enfeoff, exchange, exchange observations, exchange views, extend,
   fork out, gift, gift with, give, give freely, give out,
   give title to, grant, guide, hand, hand down, hand on, hand out,
   hand over, have conversations, heap, help to, hold conference,
   huddle, impart, instruct, issue, kibitz, lavish, let have,
   make over, meddle, mete, mete out, negotiate, offer, palaver,
   parley, pass, pass on, pass over, pour, powwow, prescribe, present,
   proffer, propose, provide, put heads together, rain, reason with,
   recommend, refer to, render, sell, serve, settle, settle on,
   shell out, shower, sign away, sign over, sit down together,
   sit down with, slip, snow, speak, submit, suggest, surrender,
   take counsel, take up with, talk, talk over, tender, trade,
   transfer, transmit, treat, turn over, vouchsafe, yield