1
as in admitting
to make an acknowledgment of something unpleasant as true or valid
the thief confessed to dozens of robberies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in acknowledging
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confessing
So did confessing to a crime, oddly.
—
Jennifer Maas, Variety, 3 Mar. 2026
After finally confessing to their bosses about these secret missions, they were allowed to continue.
—Costa Beavin Pappas, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026
The two erupt in argument, in misunderstanding, with John confessing his anger at his lot.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2026
First there was Norwegian’s Sturla Holm Lægreid confessing to cheating on his girlfriend during a live interview after winning the bronze medal and tearfully begging her to come back (shockingly, humiliating his ex on national television didn’t work).
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
The Milwaukee man accused of fatally stabbing his 44-year-old girlfriend then allegedly confessing to the crime in a text message apologized to her family during his first court hearing.
—Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 11 Feb. 2026
The judge also barred Jones’ attorneys from presenting evidence related to other people confessing to the murder, allegedly placing a hit on Pata and threatening Pata before his killing.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 10 Feb. 2026
In a series of studies at Ohio University, participants viewed videos of people confessing to crimes.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 26 Jan. 2026
In the novel, the story instead concludes aboard the Princess Andromeda cruise ship, where Luke is tricked into confessing to poisoning Thalia’s tree, clearing Chiron’s name.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Jennifer Maas, Variety, 3 Mar. 2026
After finally confessing to their bosses about these secret missions, they were allowed to continue.
—Costa Beavin Pappas, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026
The two erupt in argument, in misunderstanding, with John confessing his anger at his lot.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2026
First there was Norwegian’s Sturla Holm Lægreid confessing to cheating on his girlfriend during a live interview after winning the bronze medal and tearfully begging her to come back (shockingly, humiliating his ex on national television didn’t work).
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
The Milwaukee man accused of fatally stabbing his 44-year-old girlfriend then allegedly confessing to the crime in a text message apologized to her family during his first court hearing.
—Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 11 Feb. 2026
The judge also barred Jones’ attorneys from presenting evidence related to other people confessing to the murder, allegedly placing a hit on Pata and threatening Pata before his killing.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 10 Feb. 2026
In a series of studies at Ohio University, participants viewed videos of people confessing to crimes.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 26 Jan. 2026
In the novel, the story instead concludes aboard the Princess Andromeda cruise ship, where Luke is tricked into confessing to poisoning Thalia’s tree, clearing Chiron’s name.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confessing
Verb
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Hallucinations by large language models are a result of their training, when they are rewarded for grasping for an answer instead of admitting uncertainty.—
Parmy Olson,
Mercury News,
7 Mar. 2026
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The Leeds manager was sanctioned with misconduct by the Football Association (FA), and after admitting the charge, was handed the standard one-game suspension plus an £8,000 fine.—
Ali Rampling,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Attorneys for Meta say the company discloses risks and makes efforts to weed out harmful content and experiences -- acknowledging that some bad material still gets through its safety net.—
MORGAN LEE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
6 Mar. 2026
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Attorneys for Meta say the company discloses risks and makes efforts to weed out harmful content and experiences — acknowledging that some bad material still gets through its safety net.—
Morgan Lee,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Confessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confessing. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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