procession and profession differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. procession means “(theology) the origination of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost”. profession means “the body of people in a learned occupation”. profession is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/pɹəˈsɛʃən/
1.n.(theology) the origination of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
“the emanation of the Holy Spirit”
2.n.the group action of a collection of people or animals or vehicles moving ahead in more or less regular formation
“processions were forbidden”
3.n.the act of moving forward (as toward a goal)
| procession | profession | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /pɹəˈsɛʃən/ | /pɹəˈfɛʃən/ |
| Said | pruh-SESH-uhn | pruh-FESH-uhn |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| Letters | 10 | 10 |
| Parts of speech | noun | noun |
| Senses | 3 | 4 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | emanation, rise | none recorded |
Full entry for procession · Full entry for profession · More comparisons
/pɹəˈfɛʃən/
1.n.the body of people in a learned occupation
“the news spread rapidly through the medical profession”
2.n.an occupation requiring special education (especially in the liberal arts or sciences)
3.n.an open avowal (true or false) of some belief or opinion
“a profession of disagreement”