earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try"
take into one's family; "They adopted two children from Nicaragua"
take up and practice as one's own
choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans; "She followed the feminist movement"; "The candidate espouses Republican ideals"
point out or draw attention to in protest or remonstrance; "our parents represented to us the need for more caution"
describe or present, usually with respect to a particular quality; "He represented this book as an example of the Russian 19th century novel"
serve as a means of expressing something; "The flower represents a young girl"
create an image or likeness of; "The painter represented his wife as a young girl"
be a delegate or spokesperson for; represent somebody's interest or be a proxy or substitute for, as of politicians and office holders representing their constituents, or of a tenant representing other tenants in a housing dispute; "I represent the silent majority"
be representative or typical for; "This period is represented by Beethoven"
take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to; "Because of the sound changes in the course of history, an 'h' in Greek stands for an 's' in Latin"
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"
march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation; "Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939"
penetrate or assault, in a harmful or injurious way; "The cancer had invaded her lungs"
occupy in large numbers or live on a host; "the Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North"
a posture assumed by models for photographic or artistic purposes
pretend to be someone you are not; sometimes with fraudulent intentions; "She posed as the Czar's daughter"
behave affectedly or unnaturally in order to impress others; "Don't pay any attention to him--he is always posing to impress his peers!"; "She postured and made a total fool of herself"
take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect; "His voice took on a sad tone"; "The story took a new turn"; "he adopted an air of superiority"; "She assumed strange manners"; "The gods assume human or animal form in these fables"
take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof; "I assume his train was late"
take up someone's soul into heaven; "This is the day when May was assumed into heaven"
occupy or take on; "He assumes the lotus position"; "She took her seat on the stage"; "We took our seats in the orchestra"; "She took up her position behind the tree"; "strike a pose"
seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died"
take on titles, offices, duties, responsibilities; "When will the new President assume office?"
artificially formal; "that artificial humility that her husband hated"; "contrived coyness"; "a stilted letter of acknowledgment"; "when people try to correct their speech they develop a stilted pronunciation"
contrived by art rather than nature; "artificial flowers"; "artificial flavoring"; "an artificial diamond"; "artificial fibers"; "artificial sweeteners"
not arising from natural growth or characterized by vital processes