1
as in pretends
to present a false appearance of
professed friendship while secretly plotting revenge
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in declares
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 insists
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 professes
Like many managers, Amorim professes not to read, listen or consume opinions on his side’s performances, but his reference to Neville implied others within the club do, and are too sensitive to such criticism.
—
Mark Critchley, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Colossal Biosciences professes to have species conservation as its primary mission, but de-extinction technologies could be used for other purposes.
—JSTOR Daily, 13 Nov. 2025
Also, this is the second scene of the season in which a male love interest professes an intense and specific oral fixation with his female partner.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025
Adcock professes to take safety seriously.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Add to this fact that Isabelle’s assistant, Dani, also professes her love for her and there’s quite a lot of intersecting queerness in this entry.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 23 Sep. 2025
Mark Critchley, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Colossal Biosciences professes to have species conservation as its primary mission, but de-extinction technologies could be used for other purposes.
—JSTOR Daily, 13 Nov. 2025
Also, this is the second scene of the season in which a male love interest professes an intense and specific oral fixation with his female partner.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025
Adcock professes to take safety seriously.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Add to this fact that Isabelle’s assistant, Dani, also professes her love for her and there’s quite a lot of intersecting queerness in this entry.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for professes
Verb
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But nobody pretends that number is reliable.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
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Each night on her ongoing Short n’ Sweet tour Carpenter pretends to arrest a member of the crowd.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Greenland is part of Denmark, a fellow member of NATO (Article 5 of NATO’s charter declares that an attack on one is an attack on all).—
Jonathan Lemire,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
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The trend began in the 1920s with singer Josephine Baker (the most popular Black female star of the 1920s) and 1930's Betty Boop, both of whom Mallet declares the queens of the kiss curl.—
Margaux Anbouba,
Vogue,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The strategy is designed to reshape the board that twice rejected Paramount’s bid and to rally investors behind a rival deal Ellison insists is superior on both value and risk.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
12 Jan. 2026
-
However, Alex insists that’s impossible.—
Jordana Comiter,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Yet his rhetoric assumes that Jewish identity is synonymous with privilege, that Jewish concerns are secondary — or suspect.—
David Moore,
New York Daily News,
11 Jan. 2026
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The literary record assumes the same.—
Dan Turello,
New Yorker,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The complaint asserts that Minneapolis and Saint Paul have been forced to divert officers from their usual duties to respond to incidents involving federal immigration enforcement, undermining local efforts to protect the community.—
Danya Gainor,
CNN Money,
13 Jan. 2026
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Since Aries are known for their bravado and eagerness to win, Max’s vibe aligns with the overall way the Fire sign asserts its strength and power.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Their mother claimed, the warrant alleges, that the crew used to distribute iPads so that parents could watch their children from another area during filming, but that once Busfield was hired, this practice stopped.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
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In November 2023, the indictment alleges that Lopez Alvarez, Posas Alvarenga, and other CLS members murdered a person after using a fake Instagram account to lure them into the woods in Baltimore.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Today's test simulates a frontal collision where the cars are slightly offset from each other.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
16 Dec. 2025
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Another installation simulates the interior of Aquarius Reef Base, complete with bunks, galley tables and stories from Scripps Oceanography researchers like Dale Stokes and Jim Leichter, who’ve completed multiple missions there.—
Michael James Rocha,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Dec. 2025
Verb
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How bizarre, though, to hold entertainment, one of the handful of things that make this planet bearable, in such low esteem, like an opera house that proclaims its commitment to justice but forgets to mention music.—
Jackson Arn,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
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The second Eclogue—often thought to be autobiographical—offers a famous example in which the shepherd Corydon proclaims his love for the boy Alexis.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Professes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/professes. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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