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"
any recognized accomplishment; "they admired his performance under stress"; "when Roger Maris powered four home runs in one game his performance merits awe"
the act of performing; of doing something successfully; using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it; "they criticised his performance as mayor"; "experience generally improves performance"
the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment; "we congratulated him on his performance at the rehearsal"; "an inspired performance of Mozart's C minor concerto"
a dramatic or musical entertainment; "they listened to ten different performances"; "the play ran for 100 performances"; "the frequent performances of the symphony testify to its popularity"