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profound

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profound¹

  • /pɹəˈfaʊnd/

Rhymes with -aʊnd

Where it comes from

From Middle English profound, profounde, from Anglo-Norman profound, from Old French profont, profonde, from Latin profundus (“deep, profound”), from prō + fundus (“bottom; foundation”).

adjective more profound · profounder · most profound · profoundest

  1. Descending far below the surface; opening or reaching to great depth; deep. A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog
  2. Very deep; very serious.
  3. Intellectually deep; entering far into subjects; reaching to the bottom of a matter, or of a branch of learning; thorough. a profound investigation
  4. Characterized by intensity; deeply felt; pervading. How now! which of your hips has the most profound sciatica?
  5. Bending low, exhibiting or expressing deep humility; lowly; submissive. And with this, and a profound bow to his patrons, the Manager retires, and the curtain rises.

Similar: deep-grounded

noun

  1. obsolete, uncountable The deep; the sea; the ocean. God, in the fathomlesse profound / Hath all his choice Commanders drown'd.
  2. obsolete, uncountable An abyss. […]if some other place, / From your dominion won, th' Ethereal King / Possesses lately, thither to arrive / travel this profound. Direct my course[…]

profound²

  • /pɹəˈfaʊnd/

Rhymes with -aʊnd

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English profounden, from Middle French profonder (from profond) and Medieval Latin profundāre (from profundus).

verb profounds · profounding · profounded

  1. obsolete To cause to sink deeply; to cause to dive or penetrate far down.
  2. obsolete To dive deeply; to penetrate. But no man is likely to profound tbe Ocean of that Doctrine

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: deep, heavy, intense, sound, important, significant, fundamental, intimate, thoughtful, unfathomed, unsounded, wakeless, unplumbed, depth, deep-seated, deeply

adjective

Similar: deep-grounded

Translations

Every language

adj descending below the surface

Españolprofundo
Portuguêsprofundo
Françaisprofond
Deutschtiefgehend
Italianoprofondo
Ελληνικάβαθύς vathýs
Românăprofund, care e în adânc
Русскийглубо́кий glubókij

adj intellectually deep

Españolprofundo
한국어심오한 simohan
हिन्दीगहन gahan
Portuguêsprofundo
Françaisprofond
Deutschtiefgehend
Italianoprofondo
Ελληνικάβαθυστόχαστος vathystóchastos, περισπούδαστος perispoúdastos, εμβριθής emvrithís
Românăprofund, adânc
Русскийглубо́кий glubókij, основательный osnovatelʹnyj, му́дрый múdryj

adj characterized by intensity

Españolprofundo
Portuguêsprofundo
Italianoprofondo
Ελληνικάέντονος éntonos
Românăprofund
Русскийглубо́кий glubókij

adj bending low

Ελληνικάβαθύς vathýs
Русскийни́зкий nízkij

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Cite this
MLA

"profound." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/profound. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

profound. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/profound

Chicago

"profound." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/profound.

BibTeX
@misc{profound_2026,
  title = {profound},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/profound},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}