profound

The word “profound” means showing great depth of thought, understanding, or feeling. In plain terms, very deep — whether that's deep thinking, deep feeling, or literal depth.

“Profound” is pronounced pruh-FOWND (/pɹəˈfaʊnd/ in IPA).

Here is “profound” used in a sentence: “She made a profound observation about grief that stayed with him for years.”

Words with a similar meaning to “profound” include deep-grounded.

“Profound” is an adjective.

The word “profound” comes from Latin. From Latin profundus, "deep," from pro- plus fundus ("bottom, foundation").

“Profound” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the C1 level.

“Profound” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: showing great depth of thought, understanding, or feeling.

'Deep' is the everyday word for something far below the surface or emotionally intense, while 'profound' is more formal and usually describes great depth of thought, insight, or feeling. A profound remark shows serious intellectual or emotional depth, whereas 'deep' can be literal or figurative.

'Profound' means showing great depth of thought or feeling, while 'profuse' means plentiful or given in large amounts, as in profuse apologies. The words look similar but are unrelated in meaning.

'Profound' often pairs with nouns like effect, impact, influence, change, silence, and respect, as in a profound effect or a profound silence. These collocations emphasise something being deep, intense, or far-reaching.

Use 'profound' when you want to stress intellectual or emotional depth in a more formal or emphatic way, such as a profound understanding. Use 'deep' for everyday descriptions, whether physical, like deep water, or figurative, like a deep voice.