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.
Does “Pepperpot City” profoundly illuminate the City of Brotherly Love’s role in “the Foundation of American Cuisine?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Especially considering how, online, Tanden appears to be profoundly alone.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
They are also profoundly disconnected from one another and from the world around them.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
She also said her children Dylan and Carys had dealt with the "intense attention thrown on them profoundly well".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
She neither stirred nor murmured, but hung in his arms profoundly asleep.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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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.
