What is the meaning of profess?

verb

• Practice as a profession, teach, or claim to be knowledgeable about.
  • usage: "She professes organic chemistry"
• Confess one's faith in, or allegiance to.
  • usage: "The terrorists professed allegiance to their country"; "he professes to be a Communist"
• Admit (to a wrongdoing. )
  • usage: "She confessed that she had taken the money"
  • synonyms: concede, confess
• State freely.
  • usage: "The teacher professed that he was not generous when it came to giving good grades"
• Receive into a religious order or congregation.
• Take vows, as in religious order.
  • usage: "she professed herself as a nun"
• State insincerely.
  • usage: "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"
  • synonyms: pretend