profound

Definitions

pro- (toward) + found (fundus, 'bottom') = 'reaching toward the bottom.' It began literal — profound water, a profound wound — then the depth metaphor turned inward: a profound idea reaches the bottom of a question, profound grief reaches the bottom of feeling.

Why It Means This

Think of profound as the up-market cousin of 'deep.' You can have deep water and profound water, but only ideas, silences, effects, and emotions are usually called profound — it has lifted almost entirely out of the literal sense into the world of thought and feeling. Its opposite, shallow, keeps the same vertical picture.

Common Collocations

• 1.profound impact深远的影响
• 2.profound effect深刻的效果
• 3.profound understanding深刻的理解
• 4.profound silence深沉的寂静
• 5.profound change深刻的变革

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The invention had a profound impact on everyday life.

• 2.

  Her essay offers a profound understanding of grief.

• 3.

  A profound silence fell over the room.

Synonym Comparison