profound

[ pruh-found, proh‐ ]

/ prəˈfaʊnd, proʊ‐ /

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See synonyms for: profound / profounds on Thesaurus.com

adjective, pro·found·er, pro·found·est.

penetrating or entering deeply into subjects of thought or knowledge; having deep insight or understanding: a profound thinker.

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.

noun Literary.

something that is profound.

the deep sea; ocean.

depth; abyss.

OTHER WORDS FOR profound

1 deep, sagacious.

See synonyms for profound on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR profound

1 shallow, superficial.

See antonyms for profound on Thesaurus.com

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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 found¹)

OTHER WORDS FROM profound

pro·found·ly, adverbpro·found·ness, nounun·pro·found, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use profound in a sentence

A book of profound scientific and spiritual reflection, it recalls the works of Richard Powers and Marilynne Robinson, though it’s anything but derivative.
The 10 best books of 2020|Washington Post Editors and Reviewers|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
It’s the perfect book to read as we try to make our way through this period of deep and profound uncertainty.
Lean into uncertainty with Trust Exercise, the Vox Book Club’s November pick|Constance Grady|October 30, 2020|Vox
The potential damage goes beyond psychological impact, to profound physical and social consequences.
How to cope with grief in the workplace|George Kohlrieser|October 29, 2020|Quartz
Experts describe ongoing conflict, financial stress, and profound anxiety in the dental industry.
Inside American dentistry’s identity crisis|Rachel Schallom|October 27, 2020|Fortune

It takes your breath away how profound that impact was to the business…What we do know is the virus will get behind us.
Wisdom from Day One of the Fortune Global Forum|Alan Murray|October 27, 2020|Fortune
Profoundness in their apprehension and glorifying of everyday things (fire, agriculture).
We Philologists, Volume 8 (of 18)|Friedrich Nietzsche
In patristic study he may have stood beneath Luther; in originality and profoundness of thought he was certainly inferior to More.
History of the English People, Volume III (of 8)|John Richard Green
He expatiated with great profoundness and fertility of ideas, on the uses to which a faculty like this might be employed.
Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist|Charles Brockden Brown
It is an idea by no means calculated to impress by its greatness, or to puzzle by its profoundness.
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation|Robert Chambers
There was a profoundness, a capacity for hellishness in their expression which scarcely belonged to a sanely-balanced mind.
The Hound From The North|Ridgwell Cullum

British Dictionary definitions for profound

profound

/ (prəˈfaʊnd) /

adjective

penetrating deeply into subjects or ideasa profound mind

showing or requiring great knowledge or understandinga profound treatise

situated at or extending to a great depth

reaching to or stemming from the depths of one's natureprofound regret

intense or absoluteprofound silence

thoroughgoing; extensiveprofound changes

noun

archaic, or literary a great depth; abyss

Derived forms of profound

profoundly, adverbprofoundness or profundity (prəˈfʌndɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for profound

C14: from Old French profund, from Latin profundus deep, from pro- 1 + fundus bottom

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

profound

OTHER WORDS FOR profound

OPPOSITES FOR profound

Origin of profound

OTHER WORDS FROM profound

Words related to profound

How to use profound in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for profound

Derived forms of profound

Word Origin for profound