1
as in pretending
to present a false appearance of
professed friendship while secretly plotting revenge
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in declaring
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 insisting
to state as a fact usually forcefully
he professed his innocence to anyone who would listen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of professing
Texas pulled off an upset against in-state rival Texas A&M on Friday night in a thrilling 27-17 victory that had head coach Steve Sarkisian professing his 9-3 Longhorns should make the College Football Playoff.
—
Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025
Meghan Markle is professing her love for Prince Harry five years after the couple’s royal exit.
—Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 20 Nov. 2025
In the past two decades, self-expression has become a tacit expectation in many white-collar workplaces, with dress codes relaxing and companies professing interest in their employees’ lives and values.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
She was received by the religious community and took her religious name — Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt — in 1938 before professing her vows in 1945.
—Shannon Ryan, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Warning signs, per federal guidance, can include someone quickly professing love, claiming to live far away, requests to move conversations to other apps and having bad grammar.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
Brady concluded his own explanation by professing his love of the game.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
This is the month to really practice living beyond the binary instead of just professing it.
—Colin Bedell, Them., 17 Sep. 2025
James Dobson, once the most powerful tentpole of the Religious Right and a kingmaker for politicians professing faith, died Thursday, his family announced.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Aug. 2025
Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025
Meghan Markle is professing her love for Prince Harry five years after the couple’s royal exit.
—Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 20 Nov. 2025
In the past two decades, self-expression has become a tacit expectation in many white-collar workplaces, with dress codes relaxing and companies professing interest in their employees’ lives and values.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
She was received by the religious community and took her religious name — Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt — in 1938 before professing her vows in 1945.
—Shannon Ryan, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Warning signs, per federal guidance, can include someone quickly professing love, claiming to live far away, requests to move conversations to other apps and having bad grammar.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
Brady concluded his own explanation by professing his love of the game.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
This is the month to really practice living beyond the binary instead of just professing it.
—Colin Bedell, Them., 17 Sep. 2025
James Dobson, once the most powerful tentpole of the Religious Right and a kingmaker for politicians professing faith, died Thursday, his family announced.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for professing
Verb
-
Parents reported that their children loved playing with the original Nékojita FuFu, pretending to fan their faces and blow-dry their hair.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Jan. 2026
-
How naïve must Trump be to believe that Putin cares about Ukraine’s well-being after invading it, killing thousands of its people, kidnapping tens of thousands of Ukrainian children back to Russia, and continuing to bomb civilian apartment buildings while pretending to negotiate a peace deal?—
Tom Zirpoli,
Baltimore Sun,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The action followed the governor’s executive order on Friday declaring a disaster emergency in the event of a strike.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
13 Jan. 2026
-
There was a time, not more than a decade ago, when John Shorthouse was declaring that the future was here while Canucks fans watched a 19-year-old Quinn Hughes, a 20-year-old Elias Pettersson and a 22-year-old Brock Boeser cycle the puck in overtime against the Los Angeles Kings.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
During the strike in October, Kaiser rejected workers’ claims about understaffing, insisting that wages are the main reason why workers walked picket lines.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Bobby Kim spent more than two decades insisting that a product is never just a product.—
Booth Moore,
Vogue,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That is, of course, assuming the Warriors continue on their current trajectory of trying to assemble a championship-caliber supporting cast around Curry.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
-
On March 6, assuming all goes as planned, the artist will release Make-Up Is a Lie.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As Iran weakens, a power vacuum is emerging across the Middle East — and Saudi Arabia is moving to fill it by recalibrating relations with former rivals, hedging global partnerships and asserting a more independent foreign policy, according to several experts.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Powell argued that the DOJ is using the renovation and Congress’ oversight role of the Fed as a pretext for its probe, asserting the inquiry is because of his refusal to bend to Trump’s demands on interest rates.—
Jared Gans,
The Hill,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
There was that conservative influencer who went out and posted this video that went viral, alleging that day care facilities were pocketing public funds.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
-
In November 2020, Feeding Our Future sued the Minnesota Department of Education, alleging that the state was slow-walking its grant applications.—
David Ingram,
NBC news,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In recent years Beijing has ramped up its military intimidation of Taiwan, including by simulating blockades.—
Steven Jiang,
CNN Money,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Since stem cell models represent a disease’s early stages, simulating development is trickier and more time-consuming.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Cut to 1904, and President Teddy Roosevelt brandishing his big stick, proclaiming his own corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.—
Mo Rocca,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
-
An Instagram and Facebook page have been created in the past week proclaiming to be the pages for Walsh's treasurer campaign.—
Scott Wartman,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Professing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/professing. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
