state insincerely; "He professed innocence but later admitted his guilt"; "She pretended not to have known the suicide bomber"; "She pretends to be an expert on wine"
confess one's faith in, or allegiance to; "The terrorists professed allegiance to the Muslim faith"; "he professes to be a Communist"
practice as a profession, teach, or claim to be knowledgeable about; "She professes organic chemistry"
take vows, as in religious order; "she professed herself as a nun"
receive into a religious order or congregation
state freely; "The teacher professed that he was not generous when it came to giving good grades"
the act of distributing by allotting or apportioning; distribution according to a plan; "the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives is based on the relative population of each state"
the act of reconnoitring (especially to gain information about an enemy or potential enemy); "an exchange of fire occurred on a reconnaissance mission"
tending to diminish or disparage; "belittling comments"; "managed a deprecating smile at the compliment"; "deprecatory remarks about the book"; "a slighting remark"
a device designed to provide additional strength; "the cardboard backing was just a strengthener"; "he used gummed reinforcements to hold the page in his notebook"