profound means descending far below the surface; opening or reaching to great depth; deep. It carries an Arena rating of 1620, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, profound ranks #157 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words, #653 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #3,207 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,132 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
profound is pronounced /pɹəˈfaʊnd/.
Why “profound” is a great word
Having or showing great depth of intellect, insight, or feeling. From Middle English profound, from Anglo-Norman profound, from Old French profont, profonde, from Latin profundus ("deep, profound"), from prō- ("forth") + fundus ("bottom, foundation"). Unlike "esoteric," which builds a private, gated garden of thought, or "intense," which speaks only of raw, searing degree, profound describes a penetrative and universal depth. It is the silence in the wake of a symphony's final chord, the cold, mineral darkness at the bottom of a lake, or the simple, devastating clarity of a single line of poetry. It is the recognition that the bottom is not a place to fear but where meaning finally rests.
Etymology
From Middle English profound, profounde, from Anglo-Norman profound, from Old French profont, profonde, from Latin profundus (“deep, profound”), from prō + fundus (“bottom; foundation”).
adj
- Descending far below the surface; opening or reaching to great depth; deep.e.g.“A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog” — 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker,
- Very deep; very serious.
- Intellectually deep; entering far into subjects; reaching to the bottom of a matter, or of a branch of learning; thorough.e.g.“a profound investigation”
- Characterized by intensity; deeply felt; pervading.e.g.“How now! which of your hips has the most profound sciatica?” — c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount,
- Bending low, exhibiting or expressing deep humility; lowly; submissive.e.g.“And with this, and a profound bow to his patrons, the Manager retires, and the curtain rises.” — 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
noun
- The deep; the sea; the ocean.e.g.“God, in the fathomlesse profound / Hath all his choice Commanders drown'd.” — 1638, George Sandys, A Paraphrase vpon the Divine Poems, Exodvs 15:
- An abyss.e.g.“[…]if some other place, / From your dominion won, th' Ethereal King / Possesses lately, thither to arrive / travel this profound. Direct my course[…]” — 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished a
verb
- To cause to sink deeply; to cause to dive or penetrate far down.
- To dive deeply; to penetrate.e.g.“But no man is likely to profound tbe Ocean of that Doctrine” — 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- profundity 77% match — The state of being profound; magnitude, gravity, or intensity. vs profound →
- profoundly 74% match — With depth, meaningfully. vs profound →
- profoundness 70% match — The quality of being profound; profundity vs profound →
- profunditude 70% match — profundity vs profound →
- deep 69% match — Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.; Extending far down from the top, or surface, to the bottom, literally or figuratively. vs profound →
- depthy 69% match — Deep; profound. vs profound →
- pseudoprofundity 63% match — illusory profundity; pretensions of depth vs profound →
- pseudoprofound 63% match — Apparently, but not actually, profound; having pretensions of depth. vs profound →