Etymology
Origin of profundity
1375–1425; late Middle English profundite < Late Latin profunditās. See profound, -ity
Explanation
Profundity describes being thoughtful, deep, and wise. Your profundity might inspire friends to come to you for advice. Profundity comes from the word profound and it means a quality of depth or wisdom that is meaningful or even transformational. The profundity of a piece of music might move you to tears, and the profundity of certain philosophies can be deep — and a bit confusing. Profundity can describe something that's intense, like the profundity of the silence in the room following the announcement of bad news.
Vocabulary lists containing profundity
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "P"
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Excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
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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.
Their wish was granted as the ship did dock and The Prophet and his Sad Profundity was taken away from them.
From The Guardian • Apr. 30, 2010
Profundity must smile, glide gently in, and, smiling, yield itself to the initiate alone � that is the esoteric of our art.
From Time Magazine Archive
Profundity is diverting in New York, but a bore in Berlin.
From Erik Dorn by Hecht, Ben
The whole Bench of Judges stood astonish’d at the Profundity of Zadig’s nice Discernment.
From Zadig Or, The Book of Fate by Voltaire
The Gnostics claimed that the whole edifice of their science rested on a square whose angles were … Σιγή, Silence: Βυθος, Profundity: Νοος, Intelligence: and Αληθεια, Truth.
From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert
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.
