Profess

/prəˈfɛs/

Meaning & Definition

verb

to declare openly or freely; to make a profession of.

She professed her love for him in front of all their friends.

to affirm one's belief in or allegiance to a religion or belief system.

He professes a deep faith in spirituality and the power of nature.

to claim or pretend to have a quality or feeling.

They profess to be experts in the field, but their lack of experience suggests otherwise.

to teach or publicly proclaim knowledge in a particular field.

She professes mathematics at the local university.

to declare or announce a belief, theory, or point of view.

The scientist professed a new theory about the origins of the universe.

Middle English, from Old French 'professer', from Latin 'profiteri', meaning 'to declare publicly'.

profess one's love

to declare one's feelings of love openly

profess ignorance

to claim not to know something

profess faith

to explicitly declare belief in a particular religion

professor

A person who teaches at a university or college.

profession

A paid occupation, especially one that requires training.

To brag or boast about one's skills or beliefs.

He likes to profess about his cooking skills, but he rarely cooks.

To show off knowledge or beliefs in a pompous way.

She often professes her understanding of politics in social gatherings.