professed; professing; professes
1
: to receive formally into a religious community following a novitiate by acceptance of the required vows
2
3
: to confess one's faith in or allegiance to
4
a
: to practice or claim to be versed in (a calling or profession)
b
: to teach as a professor
Examples of profess in a Sentence
He professes confidence in his friend.
They profess loyalty to the king.
Recent Examples on the Web
The father of three has publicly professed his love for being a girl dad on many occasions.
—
Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
The two actors, like much of the world, were isolated in lockdown when Rivera reached out on social media to profess his love of Industry.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Jan. 2026
But the root of the second-wave critique, that there are power differentials across which professed consent is insufficient, lives on in other debates.
—S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
Those speculations seemed to be confirmed, though never explicitly stated, in Season 4 when Will breaks down trying to profess his feelings toward Mike.
—Andrew McGowan, Variety, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profess
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.
Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
The two actors, like much of the world, were isolated in lockdown when Rivera reached out on social media to profess his love of Industry.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Jan. 2026
But the root of the second-wave critique, that there are power differentials across which professed consent is insufficient, lives on in other debates.
—S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
Those speculations seemed to be confirmed, though never explicitly stated, in Season 4 when Will breaks down trying to profess his feelings toward Mike.
—Andrew McGowan, Variety, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profess
Cite this Entry
“Profess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profess. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
profess
verb
pro·fess
prə-ˈfes 
1
: to declare openly or freely
profess confidence in a friend
2
: pretend entry 1 sense 1, claim
professed to be our friends
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share