1
2
as in concedes
to accept the truth or existence of (something) usually reluctantly
political prisoners, under threat of torture, forced to confess their guilt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of confesses
When Lucy confesses to sleeping with Evan, Pippa’s insults for Lucy could rival even some of Stephen’s greatest hits.
—
Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 17 Feb. 2026
But strangely, the 28-year-old confesses the transition was relatively smooth.
—Vivian Song, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
That includes an encounter with Keegan (Brett Goldstein, wasted), a friendly Brit flying kites on the beach — kites do a lot of symbolic heavy lifting in flashbacks — to whom Laura confesses that boozing was her only way of letting go.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
Oswalt confesses being bewildered by Bamford at first.
—Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 30 Jan. 2026
Patrick Bateman famously confesses near the end of the novel, only to realize that confession itself changes nothing.
—Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026
When Hiro confesses his love to Mu-hee, Ho-jin must interpret.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
Despite often appearing invincible on the tennis court, Djokovic confesses to one major weakness off it.
—Jonathan Thompson, Travel + Leisure, 14 Jan. 2026
In the book, Poppy doesn’t run after Alex, but finds him in the local dive bar and confesses her love in front of all his coworkers.
—Ashley Boucher, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Jan. 2026
Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 17 Feb. 2026
But strangely, the 28-year-old confesses the transition was relatively smooth.
—Vivian Song, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
That includes an encounter with Keegan (Brett Goldstein, wasted), a friendly Brit flying kites on the beach — kites do a lot of symbolic heavy lifting in flashbacks — to whom Laura confesses that boozing was her only way of letting go.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
Oswalt confesses being bewildered by Bamford at first.
—Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 30 Jan. 2026
Patrick Bateman famously confesses near the end of the novel, only to realize that confession itself changes nothing.
—Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026
When Hiro confesses his love to Mu-hee, Ho-jin must interpret.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
Despite often appearing invincible on the tennis court, Djokovic confesses to one major weakness off it.
—Jonathan Thompson, Travel + Leisure, 14 Jan. 2026
In the book, Poppy doesn’t run after Alex, but finds him in the local dive bar and confesses her love in front of all his coworkers.
—Ashley Boucher, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confesses
Verb
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Ari Emanuel admits Toberoff can be a pain, even for him.—
Tom Dotan,
Vanity Fair,
23 Feb. 2026
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But the figure is likely many times higher than Ayatollah Ali Khamenei admits, the experts say.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Going into Wednesday’s games, the Lakers rank 27th in opposing field goal percentage and 24th in defensive rating, an estimate of the amount of points a team concedes across a 100-possession span.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
5 Feb. 2026
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McDermott avoids houseplants for a simple house but concedes that any small, tidy plant that doesn't require much upkeep would be fine.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The company acknowledges that this may include some alerts that are not actually a cause for concern, but feels confident in this starting point, which can be adjusted based on future user feedback.—
Sarah Scott,
Parents,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Bouie acknowledges that SlaveVoyages was an important resource for historians and descendants.—
Geraldo Cadava,
New Yorker,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Confesses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confesses. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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