Profoundly

How to spell profoundly

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce profoundly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does profoundly mean?

1. adverbTo a very great degree; in a deep or far-reaching way.

Profoundly in a sentence

• The loss of her job affected her profoundly for several months.

• The new policy profoundly changed how the company manages its budget.

Where does profoundly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin profundus, meaning 'deep' or 'bottomless', which was formed from pro, here carrying the sense of 'forth' or 'before', and fundus, meaning 'bottom' or 'base'. The literal image is of something reaching far down toward the very bottom. Latin profundus passed into Old French as profond, and English borrowed the adjective 'profound' in the 1300s, applying it both to physical depth and to depth of thought or feeling. The adverb 'profoundly' was then built in English by adding the native -ly ending, so a profoundly moving speech is one that touches you to your depths. The same fundus root, meaning the bottom or base, also gives us 'foundation' and 'fund', which is a useful reminder that the middle of the word is spelled 'found', not 'phound'.

How the word is built

• pro- (forth, forward)
• found (from Latin fundus: bottom, base)
• -ly (adverb suffix)