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:
The impact of that stance could be profound, way beyond some admirably shiny No 10 signs emblazoned all over one floor of a government building in Manchester.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
He acknowledges the technical hurdles and the profound ethical concerns and allows that his vision may never fully arrive, yet insists it would be wrong not to try.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short,” the statement read.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
When we argue over who can authentically play a woman who hatched from an egg, we miss these more profound — and real — lessons.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
I gained a profound respect for wilderness and nature and the benign dark power of woods.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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
It also results in the profounder album of the two.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 4, 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
Enough, if every day I gain a profounder knowledge of my defects, and a more certain method of turning them to a good direction.
From The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume II (of 2) by Marshall, Florence A. Thomas
It is, also, some of the profoundest art made anywhere in Europe in the past 60 years.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2022
Perhaps the stage of life that play can have its profoundest impact is towards the end.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2022
They represent the nation’s id, or, in the profoundest sense, its underclass, and Marxists and Freudians alike will have years of fun with this movie.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 22, 2019
Matilda Joslyn Gage, in her treatise Woman, Church and State, hailed this local herb-woman as “the profoundest thinker, the most advanced scientist” of her age.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 7, 2018
I watched with the profoundest satisfaction as five days of grime ran down my legs and out the drainhole, and noticed with astonished gratitude that my body had taken on a noticeably svelter profile.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
