1
as in to admit
to accept the truth or existence of (something) usually reluctantly
he fessed up to breaking the antique vase only after his guilt was obvious
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to confess
to make an acknowledgment of something unpleasant as true or valid
at first he denied everything, but eventually he realized that he had no choice but to fess up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fess (up)
Verb
-
Arteta admitted post-Brentford that those moments depend on the opponent’s behaviour, with man-orientated pressing sometimes helping to create gaps that Rice tried to exploit in the first half before getting a clearer run from the corner in the second half.—
Art de Roché,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025 -
Is this morally corrupt crowd determined to ignore constitutional obligations rather than ever admit a mistake?—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Brian Tyree Henry confessed to breaking his own cardinal rule of not returning to television in order to star in Apple TV+’s crime drama Dope Thief.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
6 Apr. 2025
-
Ninety percent of British women and nonbinary people polled in 2020 confessed to sometimes using filters before posting selfies, and 85 percent to using external editing software such as FaceTune to tweak pictures of themselves.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
This could signal a more calculated, region-specific approach — one that acknowledges price sensitivity in certain segments and the importance of maintaining U.S. market share.—
Esat Dedezade,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
The sheriff of Island County, Mark Brown, apologized to Fred and acknowledged, in a public report, that his own staff was responsible.—
Sarah Stillman,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
His interrogator conceded that the police must have gotten the wrong guy and released him within weeks.—
Gisela Salim-Peyer,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Deputy Latah County Prosecutor Ashley Jennings also flat out denied Taylor's accusations that prosecutors were slow-walking discovery and said everything the defense has asked for has been provided, a point that Taylor conceded in front of the judge.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Fess (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fess%20%28up%29. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share