profusion

noun

pro·​fu·​sion prə-ˈfyü-zhən 

prō-

1

: lavish expenditure : extravagance

2

: the quality or state of being profuse

3

: great quantity : lavish display or supply

snow falling in profusion

Did you know?

A profusion is literally a "pouring forth", so a profusion of gifts is a wealth or abundance of gifts. A profusely illustrated book is filled to overflowing with pictures. A bad social error should be followed by profuse apologies, and profound gratitude should be expressed with profuse thanks.

Synonyms

• abundance
• barrel
• basketful
• boatload
• bucket
• bunch
• bundle
• bushel
• carload
• chunk
• deal
• dozen
• fistful
• gobs
• good deal
• heap
• hundred
• lashings [chiefly British]
• lashins
• loads
• lot
• mass
• mess
• mountain
• much
• multiplicity
• myriad
• oodles
• pack
• passel
• peck
• pile
• plateful
• plenitude
• plentitude
• plenty
• pot
• potful
• quantity
• raft
• reams
• scads
• sheaf
• shipload
• sight
• slew
• spate
• stack
• store
• ton
• truckload
• volume
• wad
• wealth
• yard

Examples of profusion in a Sentence

The flowers grow in profusion.

apples grow in profusion in this valley

Recent Examples on the Web

However, Rosenbaum argues, a profusion of biographies and publications focused on Bloomsbury since the 1960s is proof of ongoing curiosity about the phenomenon and the people involved in it. —Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 14 May 2025

The whole resort felt like an exercise in suspension of disbelief—a rarefied world of oversize opulence and cosmopolitan profusion set against a backdrop of raw nature and majestic isolation. —Rachel Howard, Travel + Leisure, 14 Apr. 2025

The profusion of colors each filling a small square creates a profusion of color as unique to Gaines’ oeuvre as a Seurat pointillist masterpiece. —Tom Teicholz, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025

The pieces arrived in profusion: Mollie Panter-Downes on the Blitz. —David Remnick, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for profusion

• allusion
• collusion
• conclusion
• confusion
• contusion
• delusion
• diffusion
• effusion
• exclusion
• extrusion
• illusion
• inclusion

Kids Definition

profusion

noun

pro·​fu·​sion prə-ˈfyü-zhən 

: a plentiful supply : great quantity

lilacs blooming in profusion