Definition of "avowed"

There was considerable scepticism as to whether the line would pay, but its avowed intention was to put an end to the slave trade.

1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 262

An avowed aim of the 1962 Transport Act was to concentrate the BRB's attention on running trains.

1964 May, “News and Comment: Minister hamstrings BR workshops”, in Modern Railways, page 291

His first avowed intent, to be a pilgrim - Who would true valour see

1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress