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profess

verb

pro·fessprə-ˈfes How to pronounce profess (audio)

prō-

professed;professing;professes

Synonyms ofprofess next

transitive verb

:to receive formally into a religious community following a novitiate by acceptance of the required vows

:to declare or admit openly or freely:affirm

:to declare in words or appearances only:pretend,claim

:to confess one's faith in or allegiance to

:to practice or claim to be versed in (a calling orprofession)

:to teach as aprofessor

intransitive verb

:to make a profession or avowal

obsolete:to profess friendship

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples ofprofess in a Sentence

Heprofesses confidence in his friend. Theyprofess loyalty to the king.

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

You might feel called toprofessyour love, take next steps in your relationship, or start building your dream life in some actionable way.—

Meghan Rose,Glamour, 1 Apr. 2025Trumpprofesseshis ability to make deals, and the saber-rattling of draconian levies on other countries is all part of the strategy to get the best arrangement possible where more goods are manufactured domestically, boosting American jobs and providing a fairer landscape for trade.—

Jeff Cox,CNBC, 1 Apr. 2025Following an interview with TMZ from her room at the assisted living facility in which Williamsprofessedto being in good mental health, NYPD officers performed a wellness check and subsequently escorted Williams to a hospital.—

Ryan Coleman,EW.com, 1 Apr. 2025This was after Nanprofessedher love to Guy (Matthew Broome) and had chosen him over the Duke of Tintagel.—

Vlada Gelman,TVLine, 18 Mar. 2025See All Example Sentences forprofess

Word History

Etymology

in sense 1, from Middle English, fromprofes, adjective, having professed one's vows, from Anglo-French, from Late Latinprofessus, from Latin, past participle ofprofitēri to profess, confess, frompro- before +fatēri to acknowledge; in other senses, from Latinprofessus, past participle — more atconfess

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined attransitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use ofprofess was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century