profound
Americanadjective
-
penetrating or entering deeply into subjects of thought or knowledge; having deep insight or understanding.
a profound thinker.
- Antonyms:
- superficial, shallow
-
originating in or penetrating to the depths of one's being: profound grief.
-
being or going far beneath what is superficial, external, or obvious.
profound insight.
-
of deep meaning; of great and broadly inclusive significance.
a profound book.
-
pervasive or intense; thorough; complete.
a profound silence.
-
extending, situated, or originating far down, or far beneath the surface.
the profound depths of the ocean.
-
bending or passing far downward; low.
a profound bow.
adjective
-
penetrating deeply into subjects or ideas
a profound mind
-
showing or requiring great knowledge or understanding
a profound treatise
-
situated at or extending to a great depth
-
reaching to or stemming from the depths of one's nature
profound regret
-
intense or absolute
profound silence
-
thoroughgoing; extensive
profound changes
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of profound
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin profundus “deep, vast,” equivalent to pro- pro- 1 + fundus “bottom” ( see found 1)
Explanation
When you need a word that's deeper than "deep," consider profound. A philosopher is likely to make many profound pronouncements. Profundus literally means "deep" in Latin, and profound had the same meaning when it entered English in the 14th century. But even then, it also meant "figuratively deep" — that is, very great or intense: "The new laws have had a profound impact." Of people, it means "very knowledgeable or insightful," but sometimes when a person tries to sound profound, they're really just giving you superficial knowledge dressed up with big words.
Vocabulary lists containing profound
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Christa Pike has made a "profound" turnaround after last week's botched attempt to execute her in the US state of Tennessee, her lawyers say.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
The national flag carrier confirmed the death of the plane's captain, expressing "profound sadness" and citing an "incident" at King Khalid International Airport.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Fjord” is breathtaking cinema in more ways than one, both urgent filmmaking and a profound comment on our times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
But it can have a profound effect, adding 6 to 12 inches to background sea levels, potentially for months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Anya listened with a profound ache of understanding in her heart.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
It insists that art is not propaganda, and Ukrainians need something else from their museums, something profounder, than a restatement of what they already know.
From New York Times ● Aug. 10, 2022
But Jarecki seems to want more, something deeper and profounder.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 19, 2018
He deserves such tributes, but there is a profounder, truer explanation for the wonder he excites.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 17, 2010
Or, as Frank notes while dealing with a particularly difficult couple in Independence Day, “a profounder text runs beneath all realty decisions.”
From Newsweek
I recalled that it was just such solemn festivals of the people that I had had in mind to lay hold on and make the medium of a profounder appreciation.
From A Woman of Genius by Mary Hunter Austin
“Archangel” is the most towering presence in “Charles Ray: Figure Ground,” opening this weekend, which introduces a new generation to America’s profoundest and most challenging sculptor — as well as its slowest.
From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2022
That might sound painfully earnest, but the Greeks understood that our profoundest pleasures aren’t superficial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2017
He added, “I’m trying in my poetry to investigate the profoundest difficulties of acceptance that I can find.”
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 15, 2016
Ruth Rendell’s favorite Austen is also “Mansfield Park,” which she calls “the fun-less one, the profoundest, the most didactic, but nevertheless the greatest.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 2, 2015
It was an odd manuscript; in the midst of the profoundest personal tragedy, sinking into economic ruin, he wrote brilliantly funny columns.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
