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
-
Adler responded by encouraging others to express interest in running the simulation for their organization (there is a form to fill out), but admitted that forecasts and predictions are hard.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
26 June 2025 -
Nobody admits that all this activity serves as cover for avoiding the work that scares us: making real decisions, shipping imperfect products, having difficult conversations.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
-
That myth has been debunked — a publicity agent confessed in 2010 that the company made it up.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
17 June 2025
-
Randle allegedly confessed to lying about the kidnapping, CBS News reported, citing charging documents.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
12 June 2025
Verb
-
The city of Live Oak acknowledged Pamma’s arrest in a statement and declined further comment.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
27 June 2025
-
However, both executives acknowledged current economic challenges in the streaming sector.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
Luckily for Boca, Auckland has conceded an average of eight goals per game in this tournament.—
Joseph O'Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
-
At the time, the Trump Administration was attempting to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, with terms that heavily favored Putin: Ukraine would concede all the territory that Russia had occupied and give up its effort to join NATO.—
Joshua Yaffa,
New Yorker,
23 June 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Fess (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fess%20%28up%29. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share