1
as in admitted
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 confessed
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 fessed (up)
Verb
-
Even general manager Ross Atkins admitted it after the move.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025 -
At the end of September, Jason admitted on another episode of their podcast that the brothers' mom, Donna Kelce, has been subtly hinting for more grandkids while talking with Coach Deion Sanders.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Gacy was eventually arrested in 1978 and confessed to the murders.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
-
The former church leader and animal control officer confessed to murdering 10 people between 1974 and 1991 in and around Wichita.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Parmar himself acknowledged that the clinic’s casual, community-like style might not jibe with every population.—
Helen Ouyang,
The Atlantic,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The president had previously acknowledged that Combs and his team had reached out to him for a presidential pardon.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Like Perri, the data would suggest Darlow has conceded more goals than he was expected to, but to a marginally better extent.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
In a moment of rare institutional self-reflection, Powell conceded that the Fed kept its balance sheet expansion going too long during the pandemic.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 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
“Fessed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fessed%20%28up%29. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share