profession

noun

prə-ˈfe-shən How to pronounce profession (audio)
Definition of professionnext
1
as in declaration
a solemn and often public declaration of the truth or existence of something the weekly profession of faith by the members of the congregation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in vocation
the activity by which one regularly makes a living a gifted communicator, he was very good at his chosen profession: teaching

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of profession The Surveyor As An Example For AI Governance The land surveying profession offers technology leaders a useful model for physical AI governance. — Ronald Bisio, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026 Also, Muñiz’s own peers in the legal profession gave him the lowest score of any judge in the 2020 merit-retention survey conducted by the Florida Bar. — Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026 Labor market researchers say that against this backdrop, the profession is evolving rather than disappearing. — Corynn Winston, CNBC, 11 Oct. 2026 Incident response has always been a human profession disguised as a technical one. — Tony Kirtley, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for profession
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profession
  1. declaration
  2. vocation
  3. assertion
  4. occupation
  5. insistence
  6. work
  7. claim
  8. employment
Noun
  • The county is under an emergency declaration and residents in susceptible areas were told to evacuate Thursday afternoon.
    — Ava Berger, NPR, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The boldest declarations of solidarity, Lee knows, often precede the quietest and cruellest of betrayals.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of declaration
Noun
  • My dream would be to hear that people have watched this program and discovered the vocation.
    — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
  • These women — cradle Catholics and converts, former nuns, teachers, hospice chaplains, counselors, spouses, mothers, grandmothers — say their defiance is the fulfillment of a vocation, no different than the call answered by their male counterparts.
    — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of vocation
Noun
  • The battle — which escalated into a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the Justice Department against the state, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Logan — features striking assertions of official misconduct.
    — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Data from container shipping market analysis firm Linerlytica supports the assertion of a traffic increase.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of assertion
Noun
  • And though some Palestinians were justly fighting to end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and to create an independent state, others were waging an unjust war to destroy Israel altogether.
    — Jordi Graupera, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Across 25 occupations that past technology upended, employment fell an extra 4% over five years for every point the national unemployment rate climbed.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of occupation
Noun
  • Both could have been considered lapsed Catholics, disillusioned with the church’s position on homosexuality and its insistence that divorcees get an annulment before remarriage.
    — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The expected lockout, and MLB’s insistence on a salary cap in their CBA proposals, have also cast doubt on what the system will look like next year — whenever the season begins.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of insistence
Noun
  • Chisell, who previously worked at Amazon, eBay and Starling Bank, estimates that Paysend can now deliver around 25% more engineering work with the same-sized team, but argues that getting results isn’t as simple as handing everyone the latest tech.
    — Lindsay Dodgson, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Making the show work within Keery’s schedule was a challenge.
    — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of work
Noun
  • The company reincorporated from Delaware to Texas in 2024, and its charter pushes shareholder claims into mandatory arbitration and limits derivative suits to investors holding at least 3% of the stock—a stake worth tens of billions of dollars.
    — Heather Occhino, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Under a contributory infringement claim, all authors need to prove is that Meta facilitated transfers of their works.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of claim
Noun
  • After all, a few additional years of employment can translate to more savings, fewer years of withdrawals and a bigger Social Security benefit.
    — John Csiszar, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Emerge continues to provide employment support for 12 months after placement.
    — Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of employment

Browse Nearby Words

professing
profession
professional
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Profession.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profession. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on profession

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about profession

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of puissant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All