1
as in to pretend
to present a false appearance of
professed friendship while secretly plotting revenge
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to declare
to state clearly and strongly
the lonely woman professed her love in a series of letters to the soldier
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to insist
to state as a fact usually forcefully
he professed his innocence to anyone who would listen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of profess
One security veteran professed himself unsurprised by the emphasis on imposing consequences.
—
Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
For a person who staunchly stayed out of politics, who professed to be able to make art without a political stance—this comes as a shock.
—Literary Hub, 2 Mar. 2026
Columbia Acting President Claire Shipman wrote in a morning email to students and faculty the Department of Homeland Security gained access to the Manhattan building by professing to be searching for a missing person.
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
The upcoming exhibition's contemporary edge professes the importance of displaying Native American art of the present, to resist the erasure of living, thriving Indigenous American cultures and communities.
—Anya Sesay, jsonline.com, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for profess
Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
For a person who staunchly stayed out of politics, who professed to be able to make art without a political stance—this comes as a shock.
—Literary Hub, 2 Mar. 2026
Columbia Acting President Claire Shipman wrote in a morning email to students and faculty the Department of Homeland Security gained access to the Manhattan building by professing to be searching for a missing person.
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
The upcoming exhibition's contemporary edge professes the importance of displaying Native American art of the present, to resist the erasure of living, thriving Indigenous American cultures and communities.
—Anya Sesay, jsonline.com, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for profess
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profess
Verb
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Thus ensnared in a fiction of his making, the narrator takes his phone out and pretends to press Record.—
Giles Harvey,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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And in Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Hurt played one of the New York socialites who falls into the web of deceit created by a charismatic young man (Will Smith) pretending to be the son of Sidney Poitier.—
Chris Koseluk,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Paris Barraza Police have declared an unlawful assembly near the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, urging people to avoid the area, according to a public safety alert issued Saturday evening.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
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When Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu posted videos to rebut viral claims of his death, Grok declared the footage fake — swiftly debunked, yet already spread.—
Hollie McKay,
Deadline,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Martha sat on the other bed and thought about what a perverse species humans were—to insist on eating something that had tried so hard to be inedible.—
Cassandra Neyenesch,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
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House and Senate Democrats, meanwhile, insisted that the easiest and quickest way to end the shutdown would be for the House to pass the Senate compromise.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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By the time Szeemann was invited to organize two consecutive installments of the Venice Biennale (in 1999 and 2001), the criticism of curators’ assuming the role of meta-artists, in Szeemann’s case with quasi-shamanistic aspirations, had become a commonplace.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
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And assume that any unexpected message about your Social Security number deserves a second look.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Carolyn’s mother asserts that John was responsible for the crash.—
Jeff Wise,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
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But now the deal has been paused amid legal challenges asserting that Nexstar-Tegna violates antitrust laws.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In other words, Raskin alleges someone at the DOJ may have violated a court order, a possible contempt issue.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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Prosecutors allege that on the day of the murders, Yan Wang destroyed cellphones to prevent evidence from being produced, and broke into the home of Howard Wang and Linlin Guo the day after the murders to steal other evidence.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tools now exist to simulate how LLMs crawl and interpret your site.—
Aviv Shamny,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
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Detachment 3 simulates a NASA emergency.—
Mark Strassmann,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Today, there's writing on the wall outside, proclaiming the miracle of Ho Khanh.—
Nicole Young,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
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Improving Americans’ nutrition is a major pillar of Kennedy’s loudly proclaimed MAHA agenda.—
Arthur Caplan,
Hartford Courant,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Profess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profess. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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