as in confesses
to make an acknowledgment of something unpleasant as true or valid
had a strong suspicion about which coworker stole her food from the office fridge, but the likely culprit refused to own up
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for owns (up)
Verb
-
Oswalt confesses being bewildered by Bamford at first.—
Lisa Kennedy,
Variety,
30 Jan. 2026 -
Patrick Bateman famously confesses near the end of the novel, only to realize that confession itself changes nothing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The border was a mess, that everybody admits.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Eaton, too, admits the price and hype of the big game have gotten to be a lot.—
Patrick Whittle,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Owns (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/owns%20%28up%29. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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