as in confessing
to make an acknowledgment of something unpleasant as true or valid
had a strong suspicion about which coworker stole her food from the office fridge, but the likely culprit refused to own up
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for owning (up)
Verb
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The following year, the duo’s producer admitted that Morvan and Pilatus lip-synced, confessing that their voices weren’t even on the album.—
Mark Gray,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025 -
Nickerson was immediately terminated after confessing to the behavior, McKinzie wrote in an email to the congregation at the time.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The New York Republican was sentenced in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members — to make donations to his campaign.—
Philip Marcelo,
Fortune,
17 Oct. 2025
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The doc feature records a news report on Taj Erlander, Swedish prime minister during much of Wallenberg’s imprisonment, admitting as much, conceding that his government had failed one of its greatest citizens by not pressing hard for his release.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Owning (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/owning%20%28up%29. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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