professed
Americanadjective
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avowed; acknowledged.
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professing to be qualified; professional, rather than amateur.
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having taken the vows of, or been received into, a religious order.
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alleged; pretended.
adjective
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avowed or acknowledged
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alleged or pretended
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professing to be qualified as
a professed philosopher
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having taken vows of a religious order
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of professed
1300–50; Middle English (in religious sense) < Medieval Latin profess ( us ) (special use of Latin professus, past participle of profitērī to declare publicly, equivalent to pro- pro- 1 + -fet-, combining form of fatērī to acknowledge + -tus past participle suffix, with tt > ss ) + -ed 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Susan B. Anthony, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman were among those who professed their belief in the revelatory power of skulls.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
But Nexstar seems to be only aggravating the tension between its professed Middle America branding and its actual business moves.
From Slate • Apr. 21, 2026
While from time to time, like Matthew Arnold a century before, she professed to see some virtue in the lower classes, she reserved most of her literary barbs for the middle class.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
His other passions included football, the tango and the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, a city he professed to love "more than any place else".
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
Felix quietly professed his love to Freebie before saying goodbye and thanks to Reggie.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
