profess

verb

pro·​fess prə-ˈfes 

prō-

professed; professing; professes

transitive verb

1

: to receive formally into a religious community following a novitiate by acceptance of the required vows

2

a

: to declare or admit openly or freely : affirm

b

: to declare in words or appearances only : pretend, claim

3

: to confess one's faith in or allegiance to

4

a

: to practice or claim to be versed in (a calling or profession)

b

: to teach as a professor

intransitive verb

1

: to make a profession or avowal

2

obsolete : to profess friendship

Synonyms

• act
• affect
• assume
• bluff
• counterfeit
• dissemble
• fake
• feign
• pass (for)
• pretend
• put on
• sham
• simulate

Examples of profess in a Sentence

He professes confidence in his friend.

They profess loyalty to the king.

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, Williams continued to profess his innocence in court Thursday, telling O’Neill that police had arrested the wrong man. —Vinny Vella, Hartford Courant, 19 Apr. 2025

Snake oil salesmen have been professing to cure all sorts of ailments for centuries. —Hayley Krischer, People.com, 14 Apr. 2025

In the filing, the woman alleges that Schrader repeatedly professed his love for her and his desire to touch her, both verbally and in writing. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 5 Apr. 2025

Their leader, a fugitive holy man, professes to be able to guide the process of reincarnation, guaranteeing that billionaires who use his services won’t be paupers in the next life. —Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

in sense 1, from Middle English, from profes, adjective, having professed one's vows, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin professus, from Latin, past participle of profitēri to profess, confess, from pro- before + fatēri to acknowledge; in other senses, from Latin professus, past participle — more at confess

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for profess

• abbess
• abscess
• access
• address
• assess
• caress
• confess
• depress
• digress
• distress
• egress
• excess

Kids Definition

profess

verb

pro·​fess prə-ˈfes 

1

: to declare openly or freely

profess confidence in a friend

2

: pretend entry 1 sense 1, claim

professed to be our friends