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
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for owning (up)
Verb
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In a series of studies at Ohio University, participants viewed videos of people confessing to crimes.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
26 Jan. 2026 -
In the novel, the story instead concludes aboard the Princess Andromeda cruise ship, where Luke is tricked into confessing to poisoning Thalia’s tree, clearing Chiron’s name.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The art of being human includes admitting mistakes, a feature developers are increasingly weaving into AI systems.—
R. Daniel Foster,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
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The motion alleges that the court made a mistake in admitting a statement made by Herrera to law enforcement officers during the investigation and allowing certain evidence to be permitted, according to court documents.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
23 Jan. 2026
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“Owning (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/owning%20%28up%29. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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