profoundly
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of profoundly
Explanation
If you’re profoundly moved by the last chapter of that novel you’re reading, then you’re extremely moved — you feel it deep in your soul. The adverb profoundly means something similar to “extremely,” with the additional sense that it’s something intense and deeply felt. If you’re profoundly confused, you’re very confused — confused in a way that seems bottomless. The word can also describe something that affects you greatly. If you’re profoundly influenced by the works of Shakespeare, that means his writing shaped the whole way you think about writing, whether you're working on plays, limericks, love letters.
Vocabulary lists containing profoundly
Tuck Everlasting
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The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
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"The Latehomecomer" by Kao Kalia Yang
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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.
“I want to tell their stories so profoundly that no one will ever forget these characters,” she told the Dallas Morning News of her characters in 2017.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
We are profoundly grateful to the journalists, editors, photographers, producers, designers, business teams and countless other colleagues who brought this publication to life across its many chapters.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
"Agnes deserves justice. Her daughter Stacy deserves answers about what happened. And as a family, we deserve to be treated with dignity and kept informed about proceedings that profoundly affect our lives."
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
She is quick to make friends with Ye-ji and happy to contribute to the documentary, but sensitive to the moods of her camera-averse husband—who is, in Mr. Sul’s rendering, a profoundly broken man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Now Gitano regarded him profoundly, as though he pondered.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
