ACKNOWLEDGE, ADMIT, OWN, AVOW, CONFESS mean to disclose against one's will or inclination.

ACKNOWLEDGE implies the disclosing of something that has been or might be concealed.

e.g. acknowledged an earlier peccadillo

ADMIT implies reluctance to disclose, grant, or concede and refers usually to facts rather than their implications.

e.g. admitted the project was over budget

OWN implies acknowledging something in close relation to oneself.

e.g. must own I know little about computers

AVOW implies boldly declaring, often in the face of hostility, what one might be expected to be silent about.

e.g. avowed that he was a revolutionary

CONFESS may apply to an admission of a weakness, failure, omission, or guilt.

e.g. confessed a weakness for sweets

verb (admits, admitting, admitted)

1. reporting verb confess to be true or to be the case, typically with reluctance:

〖admit (to A) (that)節/doing〗 〈人が〉(しぶしぶ)…という［…した］ことを(A〈人など〉に)認める (!that節の方が普通)

e.g. with clause : the office finally admitted that several prisoners had been injured

｟書｠ 〖直接話法〗〈人が〉(しぶしぶ)…と認める, 認めて…と言う

e.g. with direct speech : “I am feeling pretty tired,” Jan admitted

e.g. I have to admit I was relieved when he left

e.g. with object : she admitted her terror of physical contact.

with object confess to (a crime or fault, or one's responsibility for it):

〈人･事が〉(しぶしぶ) 【人などに】〈失敗･事実･可能性など〉を認める «to» (!犯罪行為を警察などに白状するconfessとは違い, 犯罪も含め, 事実をしぶしぶ認めること)

e.g. he was sentenced to prison after admitting 47 charges of burglary

〖admit to A/doing〗 ｟かたく｠ 〈人が〉(しぶしぶ)A ［…したこと］を認める

e.g. no object : he had admitted to all seven charges against him.

acknowledge (a failure or fault):

e.g. after searching for an hour, she finally had to admit defeat

e.g. no object : he admits to having lied.

2. with object allow (someone) to enter a place:

〈機関などが〉 【公共の場所に】〈人など〉を入れることを認める «to, into» (!(1)入院･入学･入会･入場･参加などの許可をさす. (2)to ［into］句を伴う場合はしばしば受け身で. (3)｟かたく｠ 響くので日常英語ではlet inを用いる方が普通→ 成句 let someone in)

e.g. senior citizens are admitted free to the museum.

receive (a patient) into a hospital for treatment:

〈施設などが〉〈人員など〉を収容する (!この意味ではaccommodateが普通)

e.g. she was admitted to the hospital suffering from a chest infection.

allow (a person, country, or organization) to join an organization or group:

e.g. Canada was admitted to the League of Nations.

allow (someone) to share in a privilege:

e.g. the doctrine held that only a chosen few were admitted to the covenant.

3. with object accept as valid:

〈法廷が〉〈証拠〉の採用を認める;〖～ A into ［as］ B〗 A〈物〉をB〈証拠〉に採用する (!しばしば受け身で)

e.g. the courts can refuse to admit police evidence that has been illegally obtained.

4. no object (admit of) allow the possibility of:

〖admit of A〗 ｟かたく｠ 〈状況･計画などが〉A〈説明･反論など〉の余地がある, 可能性を認める

e.g. the need to inform him was too urgent to admit of further delay.

late Middle English: from Latin admittere, from ad- ‘to’ + mittere ‘send’.