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perform

[ per-fawrm ]
/ pərˈfɔrm /
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See synonyms for: perform / performed / performing / performs on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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Origin of perform

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English parformen, from Anglo-French parformer, alteration (by association with forme form) of Middle French, Old French parfournir “to accomplish”; see per-, furnish

synonym study for perform

1. Perform, discharge, execute, transact mean to carry to completion a prescribed course of action. Perform is the general word, often applied to ordinary activity as a more formal expression than do, but usually implying regular, methodical, or prolonged application or work: to perform an exacting task. Discharge implies carrying out an obligation, often a formal or legal one: to discharge one's duties as a citizen. Execute means either to carry out an order or to carry through a plan or program: to execute a maneuver. Transact, meaning to conduct or manage, has commercial connotations: to transact business.

OTHER WORDS FROM perform

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use perform in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for perform

perform
/ (pəˈfɔːm) /

verb
to carry out or do (an action)
(tr) to fulfil or comply withto perform someone's request
to present or enact (a play, concert, etc) before or otherwise entertain an audiencethe group performed Hamlet
(intr) informal to accomplish sexual intercoursehe performed well

Derived forms of perform

performable, adjectiveperformer, noun

Word Origin for perform

C14: from Anglo-Norman perfourmer (influenced by forme form), from Old French parfournir, from par- per- + fournir to provide; see furnish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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