engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or occupy urgently or obsessively; "His work preoccupies him"; "The matter preoccupies her completely--she cannot think of anything else"
occupy or take possession of beforehand or before another or appropriate for use in advance; "the army preoccupied the hills"
a substance formed during a chemical process before the desired product is obtained
lying between two extremes in time or space or degree; "going from sitting to standing without intermediate pushes with the hands"; "intermediate stages in a process"; "intermediate stops on the route"; "an intermediate level"
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"
that which is deserved or owed; "give the devil his due"
a payment that is due (e.g., as the price of membership); "the society dropped him for non-payment of dues"
owed and payable immediately or on demand; "payment is due"
suitable to or expected in the circumstances; "all due respect"; "due cause to honor them"; "a long due promotion"; "in due course"; "due esteem"; " exercising due care"
get or cause to become in a difficult or laborious manner
obtain by coercion or intimidation; "They extorted money from the executive by threatening to reveal his past to the company boss"; "They squeezed money from the owner of the business by threatening him"