profound
pro·found/pɹəˈfaʊnd/adjective
profound is spelled P-R-O-F-O-U-N-D: 8 letters and 2 syllables (pro·found). It appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, profound means “Descending far below the surface; opening or reaching to great depth; deep” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in profound?
| Letters | 8: P-R-O-F-O-U-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pro·found |
| In writing | 8.7 times per million words; the 7,797th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is profound?
Profound appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce profound?
- /pɹəˈfaʊnd/
Profound has 2 syllables, split pro·found in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-profound.wav, En-us-profound.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of profound
- more profound comparative
- profounder comparative
- most profound superlative
- profoundest superlative
- profounds present, singular, he/she/it
- profounding participle, present
- profounded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does profound mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Descending far below the surface; opening or reaching to great depth; deep.
- 2
Very deep; very serious.
- 3
Intellectually deep; entering far into subjects; reaching to the bottom of a matter, or of a branch of learning; thorough.
a profound investigation
- 4
Characterized by intensity; deeply felt; pervading.
- 5
Bending low, exhibiting or expressing deep humility; lowly; submissive.
noun
- 1
obsoleteThe deep; the sea; the ocean.
- 2
obsoleteAn abyss.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo cause to sink deeply; to cause to dive or penetrate far down.
- 2
obsoleteTo dive deeply; to penetrate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Profound in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense descending below the surface:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does profound come from?
From Middle English profound, profounde, from Anglo-Norman profound, from Old French profont, profonde, from Latin profundus (“deep, profound”), from prō + fundus (“bottom; foundation”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).