performance
noun
Simple meaning
The action of doing something, like acting in a show or playing music
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
perfawrmuhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
pɚˈfɔɹməns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of performing; of doing something successfully; using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it
“They criticised his performance as mayor.”
The act of performing; carrying into execution or action; execution; achievement; accomplishment; representation by action.
That which is performed or accomplished; a thing done or carried through; an achievement; a deed; an act; a feat; especially, an action of an elaborate or public character.
The act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment
“We congratulated him on his performance at the rehearsal.”
The amount of useful work accomplished estimated in terms of time needed, resources used, etc.
art
A live show or concert.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of performing; of doing something successfully; using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it
Used this way, performance is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
“They criticised his performance as mayor.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Successful and accomplished
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Performing / performednoun
“They criticised his performance as mayor.”
Presentingnoun
“We congratulated him on his performance at the rehearsal.”
More ways to use performance
- “They criticised his performance as mayor.”noun
- “We congratulated him on his performance at the rehearsal.”noun
- “They listened to ten different performances.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An entertainer who performs a dramatic or musical work for an audience.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The capability of a technological system to perform as intended.
A bond given to protect the recipient against loss in case the terms of a contract are not filled.
A speaker's actual use of language in real situations.
The act of performing music.
The performance of a legal contract as specified by its terms.
A United States defense laboratory to conduct research in high-performance computing for defense technology applications.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The performance of a part or role in a drama.
Arts or skills that require public performance.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: performing
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.