profess

About 1.45 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. verb To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
2. verb To declare oneself (to be something).

   They've professed themselves delighted with the results.

3. verb To declare; to assert, affirm.

   Having professed her belief in the remedy, she had little choice but to try it.

4. verb To make a claim (to be something); to lay claim to (a given quality, feeling etc.), often with connotations of insincerity.

   Many profess to despise what secretly they hunger after.

5. verb To declare one's adherence to (a religion, deity, principle etc.).
6. verb To work as a professor of; to teach.
7. verb To claim to have knowledge or understanding of (a given area of interest, subject matter).

Similar words

confess concede preach advocate practice avow demonstrate practise proclaim affirm

Often followed by

to the a that and it their themselves his

Word family

professed professes professing