own up[verb]Synonyms: acknowledge, admit, allow, avow, concede, confess, fess (up), grant, let on, own
English Thesaurus: admit, concede, acknowledge, confess, Granted/I grant you, ... [TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
own up phrasal verb (
see also own)
to admit that you have done something wrong, especially something that is not serious:
Come on, own up. Who broke it?own up to (doing) something No one owned up to breaking the window. He was too frightened to own up to his mistake. He still wouldn’t own up to the fact that he’d lied. [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲
admit to agree unwillingly that something is true:
He admitted that the company was having financial difficulties. I must admit I was disappointed by their reaction.concede formal to admit something in a discussion or argument:
‘You may be right,’ Bridget conceded. It was a decision which he now concedes was incorrect.acknowledge /əkˈnɒlɪdʒ/
formal to say that something is true or that a situation exists:
The report acknowledges that research on animals is not always a reliable guide when it comes to humans. They do not want to acknowledge the fact that things have changed.confess to admit something that you feel embarrassed or ashamed about:
Bradley confessed that he struggled to finish the race. I must confess I don’t like his wife at all.Granted/I grant you formal spoken used when admitting that something is true, although you do not think it makes much difference to the main point.
Granted is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, or on its own:
She has a lot of experience, I grant you, but she’s not good at managing people. Granted he did play well in the last game, but generally his form hasn't had been very good recently.own up to admit that you have done something wrong, usually something that is not very serious.
Own up is more informal than
admit or
confess:
He owned up to the mistake straight away.fess up informal to admit that you have done something wrong that is not very serious:
Come on, fess up! Where were you last night?come clean informal to finally admit something bad that you have been trying to hide:
They want the government to come clean on where all the money has gone. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲