professed

[pruh-fest]

adjective

1. avowed; acknowledged.

2. professing to be qualified; professional, rather than amateur.

3. having taken the vows of, or been received into, a religious order.

4. alleged; pretended.

professed

/ prəˈfɛsɪdlɪ, prəˈfɛst /

adjective

1. avowed or acknowledged

2. alleged or pretended

3. professing to be qualified as

   a professed philosopher

4. having taken vows of a religious order

Other Word Forms

• half-professed adjective
• nonprofessed adjective
• self-professed adjective
• unprofessed adjective
• professedly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of professed¹

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

“The funding freezes could and likely will harm the very people Defendants professed to be protecting,” she wrote.

From Salon

The Republicans of the modern era — and you can find examples of this throughout the country’s history — have no stand on their professed principles.

From Salon

“Miracles still happen,” Pellegrino, a professed Catholic, said in a phone interview Wednesday evening.

From Los Angeles Times

When situated within this broader context of a professed commitment to scientific detachment, Oppenheimer’s behavior becomes more intelligible.

From Salon

The budget cuts will undermine the administration’s professed goals.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• stated