avows

Verb

avow (third-person singular simple present avows, present participle avowing, simple past and past participle avowed)

1. (transitive) To declare openly and boldly, as something believed to be right; to own, acknowledge or confess frankly.
   • […] in 1786, and for some period later, there were few, if any, prominent Americans, who avowed themselves in favor of broadly democratic systems.1858, Henry Stephens Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, volume 1, page 461
2. (transitive) To bind or devote by a vow.
   • No man may halewe and avowe the firste gendrid thingis that perteynen to the Lord, whether it is oxe, whether scheep, tho ben the Lordis part.c. 1382–1395, John Wycliffe [et al.], edited by Josiah Forshall and Frederic Madden, The Holy Bible, […], volume I, Oxford: At the University Press, published 1850, →OCLC, Leviticus 27:26, page 362...

   Synonyms:

   consecrate, dedicate, hallow, sanctify, behallow, bless, canonize, inaugurate, martyr, sacralize

3. To acknowledge and justify, as an act done. See avowry.
   • avow himself the accomplice of his crimes1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC

See all 4 meanings of avow