Definitions

profess

[pruh-fes] / prəˈfɛs /

VERB

declare, assert

Synonyms

STRONGEST

acknowledge admit affirm avow confess feign pretend proclaim stump

STRONG

allege announce asseverate aver avouch certify claim confirm croon depose dissemble fake maintain own predicate purport sing spiel spout state vouch

WEAK

act as if blow hot air come out constate cross heart get off chest get on soapbox make out open up own up say so soapbox swear on bible swear up and down talk big

Antonyms

STRONGEST

conceal deny disavow disown dispute hide refuse renounce repudiate

STRONG

be quiet contradict invalidate question reject

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Even as they profess admiration for one another’s work, Ruth, Jay and Leigh sink into a bog of miscommunication and antagonism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

I profess no ultimate wisdom but that’s what I’m getting from the comments that they make.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

First, she had to stop fighting the Others, the term for the billions united in groupthink, and accept if not entirely trust that the collective love they profess to have for her is real.

From Salon • Dec. 29, 2025

Although they profess to be in this screwy loyalty gauntlet for similar reasons, not everyone’s impetus is the same.

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2025

Burr’s response was incisively curt: “having Considered it attentively,” he wrote, “I regret to find in it nothing of that sincerity and delicacy which you profess to Value.”

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Vocabulary lists containing profess

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"Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell

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The Taming of the Shrew

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