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
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The plaintiff, who the lawsuit said has lived in the US with his wife and son since being admitted as a refugee in 2024, was abruptly detained January 11.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026 -
Among other measures, the settlement stipulates that Columbia won't consider race in admissions, programming or hiring, will provide a demographic and academics breakdown of all rejected and admitted students, and will review its international admissions process.—
Bill Chappell,
NPR,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Smith, 50, also confessed to buying and possessing pornographic images of minors.—
Chris Dolmetsch,
Bloomberg,
27 Jan. 2026
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A couple of weeks later, Gillooly confessed and also agreed to testify that Harding approved the plan to attack Kerrigan.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Council’s report acknowledged that all of Indiana’s potential sources of rare earth elements are thought to have low concentrations.—
Noël Fletcher,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Qatar acknowledged the calls but offered few specifics on what was discussed.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Liverpool conceded a goal down that flank, and eventually Slot had to introduce Joe Gomez and move Endo into midfield.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
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Even if Senate Republicans conceded to breaking up the funding package, the bills would be kicked back to the House of Representatives, which is on a weeklong recess.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Fessed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fessed%20%28up%29. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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