performance
noun
Performance — any accomplishment, judged and measured by how it was carried out
Definition
Any recognized accomplishment; "they admired his performance under stress"; "when Roger Maris powered four home runs in one game his performance merits awe"
In depth
Performance is any recognized accomplishment, the word describing both the act of doing something and the broader assessment of how well it was done. It spans theatrical and musical execution, athletic achievement, professional output, and even, more abstractly, the functioning of a machine or system under particular conditions.
Origin
The word descends from Old French parfournir, to carry out fully, formed from par- (thoroughly) and fournir (to furnish or provide). That sense of thorough completion remains the word's essential core: a performance, in any field, is judged by how fully and effectively an undertaking has been carried through, from intention to actual, witnessed result.
Usage examples
"They admired his performance under stress, the way he kept the operation running calmly even as everything went wrong."
"When Roger Maris finally broke the home run record, his performance that season silenced even his harshest critics."
"The orchestra's performance left the entire hall in stunned, lingering silence before the applause finally began."
How to use it
Performance is extraordinarily versatile across theater, sports, business, and engineering writing, and its precise meaning shifts considerably depending on context, ranging from a single artistic execution to an extended evaluation of professional or mechanical effectiveness over time.
Related concepts
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