- 1very great; felt or experienced very strongly profound changes in the earth’s climate My father's death had a profound effect on us all. The news came as a profound shock. The report has profound implications for schools. Her sense of disappointment was profound.
- 2showing great knowledge or understanding profound insights a profound book
- 3needing a lot of study or thought profound questions about life and death
- 4(medical) very serious; complete profound disability Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French profund, from Latin profundus ‘deep’, from Latin pro ‘before’ + fundus ‘bottom’. The word was used earliest in the sense ‘showing deep insight’.Extra examples Her book offers some profound insights into the nature of suffering. His later articles were a little more profound. I’m not quite sure what he means by that, but it sounds very profound. She always claimed there was nothing profound about her artwork. They posed some profound questions about the nature of reality.
Check pronunciation: profound
