• vt. 自稱；公開表示；宣稱信奉；正式準予加入
• vi. 聲稱；承認；當教授

pro-,向前，在前，-fess,說話，告知，詞源同confess,prophecy,phone.引申詞義公開宣稱，聲稱等。

profess

profess: [14] Profess comes from prōfessus, the past participle of Latin prōfitērī ‘declare publicly’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix prō- ‘forth, in public’ and fatērī ‘acknowledge, confess’ (a relative of English fable, fame, and fate and source also of confess). A professor [14] is etymologically someone who ‘makes a public claim’ to knowledge in a particular field; and someone’s profession [13] is the area of activity in which they ‘profess’ a skill or competence.
=> confess, fable, fame, fate

profess (v.)

early 14c., "to take a vow" (in a religious order), a back-formation from profession or else from Old French profes, from Medieval Latin professus "avowed," literally "having declared publicly," past participle of Latin profiteri "declare openly, testify voluntarily, acknowledge, make public statement of," from pro- "forth" (see pro-) + fateri (past participle fassus) "acknowledge, confess," akin to fari "to speak," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)). Meaning "declare openly" first recorded 1520s, "a direct borrowing of the sense from Latin" [Barnhart]. Related: Professed; professing.

1. Why do organisations profess that they care?

為什么機構都謊稱自己對此很關心？

來自柯林斯例句

2. I profess that I was surprised at the news.

我承認這消息使我驚訝.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》

3. They have become what they profess to scorn.

他們成了自己曾聲稱看不起的那種人.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》

4. I don't profess expert knowledge of / to be an expert in this subject.

我并不自詡對這一問題內行[是這一問題的專家].

來自辭典例句

5. I don't profess to be an expert on that subject.

我不自認為是那個問題的專家.

來自辭典例句