Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb profess
7 senses of profess
Sense 1
profess -- (practice as a profession, teach, or claim to be knowledgeable about; "She professes organic chemistry")
=> claim -- (assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing; "He claimed that he killed the burglar")
Sense 2
profess -- (confess one's faith in, or allegiance to; "The terrorists professed allegiance to their country"; "he professes to be a Communist")
=> declare -- (state emphatically and authoritatively; "He declared that he needed more money to carry out the task he was charged with")
Sense 3
concede, profess, confess -- (admit (to a wrongdoing); "She confessed that she had taken the money")
=> admit, acknowledge -- (declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of; "He admitted his errors"; "She acknowledged that she might have forgotten")
Sense 4
profess -- (state freely; "The teacher professed that he was not generous when it came to giving good grades")
=> declare -- (state emphatically and authoritatively; "He declared that he needed more money to carry out the task he was charged with")
Sense 5
profess -- (receive into a religious order or congregation)
=> accept, admit, take, take on -- (admit into a group or community; "accept students for graduate study"; "We'll have to vote on whether or not to admit a new member")
Sense 6
profess -- (take vows, as in religious order; "she professed herself as a nun")
=> vow -- (make a vow; promise; "He vowed never to drink alcohol again")
Sense 7
profess, pretend -- (state insincerely; "He professed innocence but later admitted his guilt"; "She pretended not to have known the suicide bomber"; "She pretends to be an expert on wine")
=> claim -- (assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing; "He claimed that he killed the burglar")
Antonyms of adj professed
3 senses of professed
Sense 1
professed (prenominal) -- (professing to be qualified; "a professed philosopher")
INDIRECT (VIA professional) -> nonprofessional -- (not professional; not engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or for gain; "the nonprofessional wives of his male colleagues"; "nonprofessional actors")
Sense 2
professed (prenominal) -- (claimed with intent to deceive; "his professed intentions")
INDIRECT (VIA declared) -> undeclared -- (not announced or openly acknowledged; "fighting an undeclared war")
Sense 3
avowed (prenominal), professed (prenominal) -- (openly declared as such; "an avowed enemy"; "her professed love of everything about that country"; "McKinley was assassinated by a professed anarchist")
INDIRECT (VIA declared) -> undeclared -- (not announced or openly acknowledged; "fighting an undeclared war")
Similarity of adj professed
3 senses of professed
Sense 1
professed (prenominal) -- (professing to be qualified; "a professed philosopher")
=> professional (vs. nonprofessional) -- (engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood; "the professional man or woman possesses distinctive qualifications"; "began her professional career after the Olympics"; "professional theater"; "professional football"; "a professional cook"; "professional actors and athletes")
Sense 2
professed (prenominal) -- (claimed with intent to deceive; "his professed intentions")
=> declared (vs. undeclared) -- (made known or openly avowed; "their declared and their covert objectives"; "a declared liberal")
Sense 3
avowed (prenominal), professed (prenominal) -- (openly declared as such; "an avowed enemy"; "her professed love of everything about that country"; "McKinley was assassinated by a professed anarchist")
=> declared (vs. undeclared) -- (made known or openly avowed; "their declared and their covert objectives"; "a declared liberal")