confer vs confab

confer is not a noun while confab is a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
confer	No	No	Yes	No
confab	Yes	No	Yes	No

As verbs, confer and confab are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of confer include confabulate, consult.

confer (noun)	confab (noun)
	an informal conversation

confer (verb)	confab (verb)
have a conference in order to talk something over	talk socially without exchanging too much information
present	have a conference in order to talk something over