1
as in to admit
to accept the truth or existence of (something) usually reluctantly
he fessed up to breaking the antique vase only after his guilt was obvious
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to confess
to make an acknowledgment of something unpleasant as true or valid
at first he denied everything, but eventually he realized that he had no choice but to fess up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fess (up)
Verb
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No less than Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, perhaps the war’s biggest cheerleader in the administration, had to admit that Iran’s regional retaliation was not exactly a surprise.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2026 -
The person was identified by video and a witness and admitted setting the fires.—
Anne Gelhaus,
Mercury News,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Horner confessed to authorities about what happened to Athena.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Apr. 2026
-
According to charging documents, Delong later confessed to killing Czech.—
Riley Moser,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In a tense call after Altman’s firing, the board pressed him to acknowledge a pattern of deception.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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In the Texas courtroom, Setrakian acknowledged that Bonta had made the critical statements in a fundraising appeal that circulated widely and into Texas.—
Will Swaim,
Oc Register,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In an interview with NBC News, a former commander with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s powerful paramilitary group, conceded that many of the regime’s conditions were unlikely to be accepted by Washington but insisted Tehran was prepared to make concessions.—
Katherine Doyle,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
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The contradiction runs so deep that 62% of those same executives privately concede that the risk of unsanctioned shadow AI is overstated compared to the risk of not leveraging AI at all.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
9 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Fess (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fess%20%28up%29. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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