# profound

Pronunciation: say "pruh-FOWND" /pɹəˈfaʊnd/

## Adjective

1. Felt or experienced very deeply and intensely; pervading one's whole being.
   - Simple: Felt very deeply and strongly, affecting someone all the way through.
   - _Her speech stirred a profound sympathy in everyone who heard it._
   - _He carried a profound gratitude toward the strangers who had saved his life._
2. Intellectually deep; reaching to the bottom of a subject and treating it thoroughly.
   - Simple: Showing deep and complete understanding of a subject.
   - _The lecture offered a profound analysis of the causes of the war._
   - _Few scholars match her profound command of medieval law._
3. Very deep or very serious in degree, scope, or importance.
   - Simple: Very great, deep, or serious in its effect.
   - _The reforms had a profound impact on the nation's economy._
   - _Her decision carried profound consequences for the years ahead._
4. Reaching or extending far below the surface; very deep.
   - Simple: Reaching very far down below the surface.
   - _The submersible descended into a profound trench on the ocean floor._
   - _Geologists lowered instruments into the profound fissure to measure its temperature._
5. Expressing deep humility; bending low in a show of respect or submission.
   - Simple: Showing deep respect by bowing low or acting very humble.
   - _The pilgrim knelt in profound reverence before the shrine._
   - _She offered a profound curtsy that lowered her almost to the floor._

## Noun

6. The deep open waters; the sea or ocean regarded as a vast depth. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The open sea or the huge, deep ocean.
   - _They committed their fortunes to the trackless profound beyond the cape._
   - _Beneath the storm the profound heaved with towering swells._
7. A bottomless gulf or chasm; an abyss. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A deep, bottomless pit or empty space.
   - _The bridge had collapsed, leaving a sheer profound where the road once ran._
   - _Stones dropped from the ledge fell silently into the profound._

## Verb

8. To make something sink deep, or to send it diving or reaching far downward. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make something sink deep or go far down.
9. To dive deeply, or to make one's way far into something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To dive down deep, or to go far into something.

## Origin

From Middle English profound, borrowed via Anglo-Norman profound and Old French profont from Latin profundus ("deep, profound"), which is formed from prō plus fundus ("bottom, foundation").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/profound (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).