| Library / English Dictionary |
PROFOUND
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Situated at or extending to great depth; too deep to have been sounded or plumbed
Example:
remote and unsounded caverns
Synonyms:
profound; unfathomed; unplumbed; unsounded
Classified under:
Similar:
deep (having great spatial extension or penetration downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or laterally or outward from a center; sometimes used in combination)
Derivation:
profoundness; profundity (the quality of being physically deep)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(of sleep) deep and complete
Example:
deep wakeless sleep
Synonyms:
heavy; profound; sound; wakeless
Classified under:
Similar:
deep (relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply)
Derivation:
profoundness (extremeness of degree)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Coming from deep within one
Example:
a profound sigh
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
deep (relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply)
Derivation:
profoundness (extremeness of degree)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Of the greatest intensity; complete
Example:
a state of profound shock
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
intense (possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree)
Derivation:
profoundness (extremeness of degree)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
Example:
profound regret
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
deep (marked by depth of thinking)
thoughtful (having intellectual depth)
Also:
intense (possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree)
scholarly (characteristic of scholars or scholarship)
Antonym:
superficial (concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; not deep or penetrating emotionally or intellectually)
Derivation:
profoundness (intellectual depth; penetrating knowledge; keen insight; etc)
profoundness (the intellectual ability to penetrate deeply into ideas)
profoundness (extremeness of degree)
profundity (intellectual depth; penetrating knowledge; keen insight; etc)
profundity (the intellectual ability to penetrate deeply into ideas)
profundity (wisdom that is recondite and abstruse and profound)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Far-reaching and thoroughgoing in effect especially on the nature of something
Example:
profound social changes
Synonyms:
fundamental; profound
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
important; significant (important in effect or meaning)
Derivation:
profoundness (wisdom that is recondite and abstruse and profound)
Context examples:
St. John is an accomplished and profound scholar.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
The majority of the DNA is identical between individuals, but there are some differences, known as genetic variants, and these changes can have a profound effect, increasing an individual’s susceptibility to disease.
(Detailed genetic study provides most comprehensive map of risk to date of breast cancer risk, University of Cambridge)
My friend rose now and paced up and down the room, his hands in his pockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon his face.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The advance and retreat of the ice sheets also had a profound influence on the evolution and geographic distribution of many animals, including those that live in far northern regions.
("Out of Tibet" hypothesis: Cradle of evolution for cold-adapted mammals is in Tibet, NSF)
Then the muscles relaxed, the head stopped rolling, and a sigh, as of profound relief, floated upward from his lips.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
This is a long-range trend, one that could have a profound effect on your thinking.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
With stately steps and many profound bows, he advanced to the foot of the dais before replying to the prince's question.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Your reflection, though profound, had already crossed my mind.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
All this I was told; for, while the operation was performing, I lay in a profound sleep, by the force of that soporiferous medicine infused into my liquor.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
Current screening programmes for newborn babies are good at picking up moderate-to-profound levels of hearing loss, but not at detecting mild hearing loss.
(Mild-to-moderate hearing loss in children leads to changes in how brain processes sound, University of Cambridge)
