profess

/pɹəˈfɛs/

//pɹəˈfɛs// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"profess" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“profess” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,301. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,301
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order.

Corpus desk

Index EN-profess · profess · English

profess · rank #31,301 · 9 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,301
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH preset

Nearest frequency peer: preset (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “profess”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “profess” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

profess vs proves
71% similar
profess vs protest
71% similar
profess vs profits
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for profess
PropertyValue
Headwordprofess
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɹəˈfɛs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#31,301
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “profess”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).professlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “preset” (#31,300), “proportionally” (#31,302), “premeditated” (#31,299). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “profess” is #31,301. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around profess (IPA /pɹəˈfɛs/), averb. Corpus frequency is #31,301 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for profess, with forms such as "porfess", "pprofess", and "prfoess". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "proves", "protest", "profits", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French professer, and its source, the participle stem of Latin profitērī, from pro- + fatērī (“to confess, acknowledge”). The correct English form is profess, spelled P-R-O-F-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order.
  2. 2
    To declare oneself (to be something).
  3. 3
    To declare; to assert, affirm.
  4. 4
    To make a claim (to be something); to lay claim to (a given quality, feeling etc.), often with connotations of insincerity.
  5. 5
    To declare one's adherence to (a religion, deity, principle etc.).
  6. 6
    To work as a professor of; to teach.
  7. 7
    To claim to have knowledge or understanding of (a given area of interest, subject matter).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how profess appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This swayed the balance decisively in Mary's favour, and she was professed on 8 September 1578.
  2. Kiefer professes himself amused by the fuss that ensued when he announced that he was buying the Mülheim-Kärlich reactor[…].

Etymology

From Old French professer, and its source, the participle stem of Latin profitērī, from pro- + fatērī (“to confess, acknowledge”).

This word in other languages

profesar(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porfess
  • pprofess
  • prfoess
  • proefss
  • profes
  • proffess
  • profses
  • prrofess
  • rpofess

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of profess - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

porfess2pprofess1prfoess2proefss2profes1proffess1profses2prrofess1
Edit distance from "profess"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "profess"?
"profess" is spelled P-R-O-F-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹəˈfɛs/.
What does "profess" mean?
As a verb, "profess" means: To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order.
What words are commonly confused with "profess"?
"profess" is commonly confused with "proves", "protest", "profits". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "profess"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "profess" is /pɹəˈfɛs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "profess"?
From Old French professer, and its source, the participle stem of Latin profitērī, from pro- + fatērī (“to confess, acknowledge”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "profess", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

purging#31,303plumage#31,294origami#31,279orbiter#31,278

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

preset9 variantsRandle9 variantsratify9 variantssaddled9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list