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
In this context, improving pay and addressing disparities will be a formidable undertaking for a mayoral administration that professes a commitment to economic justice.
—
Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2026
Maurice grows steadily more intimate with a friend, Clive, trading books and letters with him over vacation, until Clive professes his love.
—Bekah Waalkes, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
Ongoing diversity problem Each year, Goodell professes a desire to see the NFL employ fair hiring practices that will ensure the league’s head coaching and general manager ranks reflect strong diversity.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
No matter how much people want to blame the departing Matt Nagy, or how Reid professes that the offense has been off just a tick, a significant part of why the Chiefs the last three seasons went 15th, 15th and 21st in scoring has a more holistic cause.
—Kansas City Star, 21 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
Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2026
Maurice grows steadily more intimate with a friend, Clive, trading books and letters with him over vacation, until Clive professes his love.
—Bekah Waalkes, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
Ongoing diversity problem Each year, Goodell professes a desire to see the NFL employ fair hiring practices that will ensure the league’s head coaching and general manager ranks reflect strong diversity.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
No matter how much people want to blame the departing Matt Nagy, or how Reid professes that the offense has been off just a tick, a significant part of why the Chiefs the last three seasons went 15th, 15th and 21st in scoring has a more holistic cause.
—Kansas City Star, 21 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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Importantly, though, VanArendonk adds that Bluey’s messages are powerful because the show never pretends that there is no struggle.—
Miranda Rake,
Parents,
19 Feb. 2026
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On that occasion, deprived of racing in the Olympics but not of his morality, Vladyslav Heraskevych personified the exact principles the Olympic movement pretends to defend.—
Ihor N. Stelmach,
Hartford Courant,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On one level, the environment declares that the play is set in a realistic looking, nearly empty, moodily lit diner.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Hearts2Hearts, who has covered the legendary girl group in the past, proudly declares the group as their inspiration.—
Nicole Fell,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Trump insists Iran should not be allowed to enrich any uranium at all.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
28 Feb. 2026
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In response to Berman’s suspicion that the leak was Carolyn’s doing, John insists that Carolyn is personally invested in George’s success.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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More than any of his albums in the intervening years, Kin assumes that role.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
21 Feb. 2026
-
As the Congressional Budget Office projected earlier this month, federal debt is set to reach 120% of GDP by 2036, but that forecast assumes current policies will remain in place.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Coco Coders teaches children ages 6 to 14 (Tweedale asserts this is a critical age) to code in its weekly online coding classes.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
USA Today,
23 Feb. 2026
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The county asserts that the cities should have been aware of the general scope of the increase since the extension of the contract two years ago – pointing out recent shifts in city leadership.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The filing also alleges that video shows Seitz crossed the street after the altercation had initially been quelled, and ran to confront Hernandez and Austin a second time.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2026
-
The Pillar story alleges that Dudley spotted the bishop making late-night border crossings into Mexico, parking in a lot reserved for customers of a brothel, then boarding a shuttle exclusive to customers of the brothel.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The software simulates wind passing over the avatar, computational fluid dynamics calculate how much resistance there is — and how tweaking a skater’s form alters that.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
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Most prominently, engineers detected leaking hydrogen during the test, known as a wet dress rehearsal that simulates a launch day countdown.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And yet the miles of glorious golden sand – one of the only sandy beaches in Sussex – is undeniably delightful, and just nestled behind the dunes is a splendid hotel, The Gallivant, which proclaims that happiness is a place, right here, in Camber.—
Felicity Capon,
TheWeek,
19 Feb. 2026
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What better way to express your love for someone than in front of a giant statue that proclaims the word?—
Shari Rudavsky,
IndyStar,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Professes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/professes. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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