avow

acknowledge, admit, own, avow, confess mean to disclose against one's will or inclination. acknowledge implies the disclosing of something that has been or might be concealed.

• • acknowledged an earlier peccadillo

admit implies reluctance to disclose, grant, or concede and refers usually to facts rather than their implications.

• • admitted the project was over budget

own implies acknowledging something in close relation to oneself.

• • must own I know little about computers

avow implies boldly declaring, often in the face of hostility, what one might be expected to be silent about.

• • avowed that he was a revolutionary

confess may apply to an admission of a weakness, failure, omission, or guilt.

• • confessed a weakness for sweets

assert, declare, affirm, protest, avow mean to state positively usually in anticipation of denial or objection. assert implies stating confidently without need for proof or regard for evidence.

• • asserted that modern music is just noise

declare stresses open or public statement.

• • declared her support for the candidate

affirm implies conviction based on evidence, experience, or faith.

• • affirmed the existence of an afterlife

protest emphasizes affirming in the face of denial or doubt.

• • protested that he really had been misquoted

avow stresses frank declaration and acknowledgment of personal responsibility for what is declared.

• • avowed that all investors would be repaid in full