profound

profound

adjective

Definition of PROFOUND

1

difficult for one of ordinary knowledge or intelligence to understand <a profound observation about good and evil that few listeners fully grasped>

Synonyms abstruse, arcane, deep, esoteric, hermetic (also hermetical), recondite

Related Words erudite, learned, scholarly; academic (also academical), pedantic; complex, complicated, hard; darkling, enigmatic (also enigmatical), inscrutable, mysterious, mystic, mystical, orphic, uncanny; impenetrable, incomprehensible, unfathomable, unintelligible; ambiguous, cryptic; unanswerable, unknowable; baffling, bewildering, confounding, confusing, disorienting, mystifying, perplexing, puzzling

Near Antonyms easy, facile, simple, straightforward; comprehensible, fathomable, intelligible, understandable; apparent, clear, clear-cut, distinct, evident, lucid, manifest, obvious, perspicuous, plain, transparent

Antonyms shallow, superficial

2

extreme in degree, power, or effect <a profound silence fell over the audience after the last note had sounded>

Synonyms acute, almighty, blistering, deep, dreadful, excruciating, explosive, exquisite, fearful, fearsome, ferocious, fierce, frightful, furious, ghastly, hard, heavy, heavy-duty, hellacious, intensive, keen, profound, terrible, vehement, vicious, violent

Related Words accentuated, aggravated, concentrated, deepened; emphasized, enhanced, heightened, intensified, magnified; stressed; exhaustive, thorough; harsh, rigorous, severe

Near Antonyms feeble, weak; shallow, superficial; moderated, qualified; alleviated, eased, lightened, toned (down); abated, decreased, diminished, lessened, reduced, subdued

Antonyms light, moderate, soft

3

having no exceptions or restrictions <a profound dislike of frauds and phonies>

Synonyms all-out, arrant, blank, blooming [chiefly British], bodacious [Southern & Midland], categorical (also categoric), clean, complete, consummate, cotton-picking, crashing, damn, damned, dead, deadly, definite, downright, dreadful, fair, flat, flat-out, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plumb, profound, pure, rank, regular, sheer, simple, stark, stone, straight-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unconditional, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, very

Related Words authentic, classic, genuine, real, veritable; constant, endless, eternal, perpetual, undying, unremitting; extreme, unrestricted; confirmed, habitual, hopeless, inveterate; extraordinary, frightful, horrible, huge, main, superlative, supreme, surpassing, terrible, terrific

Near Antonyms doubtful, dubious, equivocal, qualified, questionable, restricted, uncertain

4

extending far downward <with eyes wide with disbelief, the explorers made their way through a canyon more profound than any they had ever imagined>

Synonyms abysmal, bottomless, profound

Related Words abyssal, unfathomable; boundless, endless, immeasurable, inestimable, infinite, limitless, measureless, unlimited, vast

Near Antonyms depthless, two-dimensional; even, flat, flush, horizontal, level, plane, smooth; confined, finite, limited, measured, restricted

Antonyms shallow, shoal, skin-deep, superficial, surface