Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having, showing, or requiring great insight or understanding.
  • adjective Deeply felt or held; intense.
  • adjective Thoroughgoing; far-reaching.
  • adjective Unqualified or unbroken.
  • adjective Situated at, extending to, or coming from a great depth; deep.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cause to sink deeply; cause to penetrate far down.
  • To penetrate.
  • To dive; penetrate.
  • Deep; descending or being far below the surface, or far below the adjacent places; having great depth.
  • Specifically — In anatomy, deep-seated; not superficial: specifically applied to several structures, as arteries and muscles. See profunda.
  • In entomology, strongly impressed; very deep and distinct: as, profound punctures, striæ, or indentations.
  • Coming from a great depth; deepfetched.
  • Bending low; hence, lowly; humble; exhibiting or expressing deep humility: as, a profound bow.
  • Intellectually deep; entering deeply into subjects; not superficial or obvious; deep in knowledge or skill; penetrating.
  • Characterized by magnitude or intensity; deep-felt; intense; great.
  • Deep-seated; thorough; complete.
  • Deep in skill or contrivance.
  • Having hidden qualities; obscure; abstruse.
  • noun A deep, immeasurable space; an abyss.
  • noun The deep; the sea; the ocean: with the definite article.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The deep; the sea; the ocean.
  • noun An abyss.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To dive deeply; to penetrate.
  • transitive verb obsolete To cause to sink deeply; to cause to dive or penetrate far down.
  • adjective Descending far below the surface; opening or reaching to a great depth; deep.
  • adjective Intellectually deep; entering far into subjects; reaching to the bottom of a matter, or of a branch of learning; thorough
  • adjective Characterized by intensity; deeply felt; pervading; overmastering; far-reaching; strongly impressed.
  • adjective Bending low, exhibiting or expressing deep humility; lowly; submissive.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Descending far below the surface; opening or reaching to a great depth; deep.
  • adjective Very deep; very serious
  • adjective Intellectually deep; entering far into subjects; reaching to the bottom of a matter, or of a branch of learning; thorough; as, a profound investigation or treatise; a profound scholar; profound wisdom.
  • adjective Characterized by intensity; deeply felt; pervading; overmastering; far-reaching; strongly impressed; as, a profound sleep.
  • adjective Bending low, exhibiting or expressing deep humility; lowly; submissive; as, a profound bow.
  • noun obsolete The deep; the sea; the ocean.
  • noun obsolete An abyss.
  • verb obsolete To cause to sink deeply; to cause to dive or penetrate far down.
  • verb obsolete To dive deeply; to penetrate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective far-reaching and thoroughgoing in effect especially on the nature of something
  • adjective showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
  • adjective situated at or extending to great depth; too deep to have been sounded or plumbed
  • adjective (of sleep) deep and complete
  • adjective of the greatest intensity; complete
  • adjective coming from deep within one

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English profounde, from Old French profond, deep, from Latin profundus : prō-, before; see pro– + fundus, bottom.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Late Anglo-Norman profound, from Old French profont, from Latin profundus, from pro + fundus ("bottom; foundation").

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Examples

  • In the introduction to Yale University Press's catalog of the show, the Whitney's director Adam Weinberg identifies what he calls a "profound sense of pathos" in Ms. Levine's work.

    Duchamp Redux Richard B. Woodward 2011

  • A key to this social transformation is in how we look at vulnerability, which I define as a profound openness.

    Birute Regine: The Power of Vulnerability Birute Regine 2010

  • When the patient has been cooled to what we call profound hypothermia, the bypass machine is turned off for the duration of circulatory arrest.

    Mail Call: Going Where No Man's Gone Before 2007

  • The review says when it comes to planning evacuations like the one you see here, there is what they call profound concern.

    CNN Transcript Jun 16, 2006 2006

  • Well, it ` s not too much to think that a father could do this to his wife and daughter because he had what we call a profound detachment disorder.

    CNN Transcript Feb 14, 2006 2006

  • "To Morgan, what matters are not the delays in her dream of space, but the lessons others can draw from her story: the importance of setting goals and persevering, as well as what she calls a profound need to teach young people about the universe and excite enough of them to make it a career."

    NASA Watch: Keith Cowing: August 2004 Archives 2004

  • President Barack Obama is praising what he calls the "profound" relationship between the United States and Honduras.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • Kenneth Ramseur, blasted what he called the "profound audacity" of the cop's suit.

    NY Daily News JOHN MARZULLI 2011

  • The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for what they called his profound impact on popular music and American culture.

    Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) 2010

  • Mary Robinson, a former president of Ireland, detects glimmers of hope in eastern Congo and what she calls a profound change of mood in the relationship between Joseph Kabila and Paul Kagame, the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda respectively.

    CFR.org - 2009

Comments

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  • I found this word in an article called " The Path of the Drifter" by Nathan Myers. It is used in the sentence as followed, " Theres something profound going on here."

    September 22, 2010