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.
Profoundly religious and an early advocate of the kindergarten movement in America, Bradley developed his game for children as much as their parents.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026
“No. Profoundly no. I’ve never thought about that,” he said Wednesday during an interview with Washington Post Live.
From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2021
Profoundly affected by the King assassination, Mr. Mitchell began to work toward establishing a school that would provide the children of Harlem with the kinds of opportunities he had had.
From New York Times • Sep. 19, 2018
Profoundly fearful of Catholicism and absolutism, a handful of prominent Whigs reached out to James’s Protestant daughter Mary, wife of the leading Dutch nobleman, Prince William of Orange.
From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018
Profoundly shocking though Albus Dumbledore’s fans will find it, here are the thoughts of their seventeen-year-old hero, as relayed to his new best friend.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
