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.
With this time-shaping device called the Chronovisor, Father Pellegrino Ernetti professed to have seen footage of the crucified Christ and even enjoyed a lost play staged by an ancient Roman dramatist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
“In the past, I supported him because of the policies he professed to support and passionately campaigned on,” Greene wrote.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Though he professed to not know the mainland scene "very well", he pinpointed animation and small-scale productions as bright spots.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
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
Although the California Department of Public Health professed to see no hazard, nevertheless in 1959 it required that the use of DDD in the lake be stopped.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
