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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Last year, in his third NBA season, LaRavia played well enough that Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman admitted the team’s decision to decline his fourth-year player option the previous summer was a mistake.—
Dan Woike,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025 -
At European soccer governing body UEFA’s Congress in Stockholm in April 2002, Kazakhstan was admitted as the confederation’s 52nd member after leaving the Asian Football Confederation the previous year.—
Nina Subkhanberdina,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Charges were dropped against two, but the two suspects who confessed went on trial and were convicted of capital murder, officials said.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
29 Sep. 2025
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Finally, Robinson confessed to his father.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This acknowledged the error, diffused the awkwardness and reoriented the conversation onto a positive heading.—
Rolling Stone Culture Council,
Rolling Stone,
30 Sep. 2025
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However, in a post on its website, the company acknowledged safety protections may fall away in longer conversations with ChatGPT.—
Sonia Mankame,
Mercury News,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Across nine competitive matches this season, Arsenal have conceded just three goals.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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However, de Apziazu conceded streamers’ ambition and budgets are still leading to market-leading productions, even if fewer of them are made.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 2025
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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 7 Oct. 2025.
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