as in confessing
to make an acknowledgment of something unpleasant as true or valid
had a strong suspicion about which coworker stole her food from the office fridge, but the likely culprit refused to own up
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for owning (up)
Verb
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Robinson left a handwritten note for his romantic partner confessing to the crime, and also confessed to friends on the chat room platform Discord, prosecutors said.—
Matthew Brown,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Apr. 2026 -
Josh goes to prison and serves an eight-year sentence after falsely confessing to Park's crimes.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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By its final years, the hall mostly hosted dancing, admitting men for 50 cents and women free of charge.—
Graham Womack
May 2,
Sacbee.com,
2 May 2026
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Monica Lewinsky is admitting what led her to make choices that helped ignite one of Washington’s biggest scandals.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Owning (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/owning%20%28up%29. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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