profound

profound — adjective

1. So strong, serious, or great that it changes a situation or affects someone deep

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

So strong, serious, or great that it changes a situation or affects someone deeply — used of feelings, effects, differences, and broad changes.

Example

The new policy had a profound effect on the way hospitals manage their budgets.

profound effect on [noun phrase]

Losing his job caused Joao a profound sense of shame that lasted for months.

Common collocations
  • profound effect
  • profound impact
  • profound change
  • profound sense of
  • profound difference
  • profound implications
Synonyms
  • intense

    focuses on concentrated strength of a feeling, less on far-reaching effects

  • deep

    more general and less formal than profound; covers both feelings and physical depth

  • extreme

    marks the far end of a scale; quantifies rather than qualifies the nature of the change

Antonyms
  • superficial

    suggests only surface-level effect, the opposite of penetrating deeply

  • slight

    describes a very small degree of change or effect

Grammar Patterns

profound + noun

be + profound

Usage Note

Often used before nouns such as effect, impact, change, difference, and sense. Can also be used predicatively: The consequences were profound.

Common Mistakes

We had a profound time at the beach.
We had a wonderful time at the beach.
profound is too strong for everyday positive experiences; use milder adjectives.

2. Coming from deep, serious thought and showing a clear understanding of important

2.adjectiveC2
Definition

Coming from deep, serious thought and showing a clear understanding of important or complex subjects — used of writing, ideas, remarks, or people.

Example

Hui gave a profound lecture on climate change that changed how many students thought about the issue.

profound lecture / speech / talk on [topic]

The professor offered a profound analysis of the link between poverty and poor health.

Common collocations
  • profound insight
  • profound analysis
  • profound understanding
  • profound remark
  • profound thought
  • profound wisdom
Synonyms
  • insightful

    focuses on the ability to see into a subject clearly; slightly less formal

  • perceptive

    emphasises noticing details that others miss

  • penetrating

    suggests going straight to the core of an issue with sharpness

Antonyms
  • shallow

    indicates a lack of serious thought or depth

  • superficial

    dealing only with obvious or surface aspects

Grammar Patterns

profound + noun

be + profound

Usage Note

Describes writing, speech, or ideas that come from genuine intellectual depth. Does not describe physical depth. To describe someone as profound is a high compliment.

Common Mistakes

He gave a profound speech about his weekend plans.
He gave a long speech about his weekend plans.
profound in this sense requires a serious, weighty subject and genuine insight.

3. Very difficult to understand because it involves deep or abstract ideas that req

3.adjectiveC1
Definition

Very difficult to understand because it involves deep or abstract ideas that require careful study or long reflection.

Example

The book raises profound questions about time and whether the past still exists.

profound questions about [abstract topic]

In philosophy class, the students discussed profound issues such as free will and moral responsibility.

Common collocations
  • profound question
  • profound issue
  • profound mystery
  • profound subject
  • profound problem
Synonyms
  • deep

    less formal and broader; can describe both intellectual depth and physical depth

  • abstruse

    more formal; suggests something deliberately obscure or hard for non-specialists

  • complex

    focuses on many interconnected parts rather than conceptual depth

Antonyms
  • simple

    easy to understand without much effort

  • straightforward

    clear and uncomplicated in structure or meaning

Grammar Patterns

profound + noun

too profound to + verb

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2: this sense describes the inherent difficulty of the subject matter, not the quality of someone's understanding of it. A question can be profound (hard to grasp) even if no one has answered it well.

Common Mistakes

This arithmetic problem is profound.
This arithmetic problem is very difficult.
profound suggests a subject that demands deep philosophical or intellectual engagement, not technical trickiness.

profound — noun

Word family

  • profoundly
    adverbC2
  • profundity
    nounC2
  • profoundness
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Profound, deep, intense, and extreme all describe something very strong, but they differ in scope and connotation. Profound suggests strength that reaches into the very nature of something — a profound change affects the core of a system, not just its surface. Deep often overlaps with profound but is more general and less formal: a deep sense of gratitude feels personal, while a profound sense carries a weightier, more intellectual tone. Intense focuses on concentrated energy or sharpness of feeling — intense pain, intense colour — without implying lasting significance. Extreme marks the far end of a scale: extreme heat, extreme poverty. Where extreme quantifies, profound qualifies. For example: 'The earthquake caused extreme destruction and profound social change' — extreme emphasises severity; profound emphasises transformative depth.

profound ↗deep ↗intense ↗extreme ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • most profound
  • truly profound
  • so profound
  • quite profound
  • equally profound

Phrases

  • of profound importance
  • of profound significance

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'profundus', meaning 'deep, bottomless', formed from 'pro-' (forward, forth) and 'fundus' (bottom). The word entered English through Old French 'profond' in the 1300s, originally describing physical depth before developing its modern metaphorical meanings of intellectual and emotional depth.