Phrase guide

deep down

adv · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adv

Meaning 1

Fundamentally; in essence; in reality; as part of an honest appraisal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

Examples

  • He seems like an average businessman, but deep down he's an overgrown kid with a necktie.
  • She said she was confident, but deep down she knew she had messed up.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adverb

Meaning 2

in reality

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • she is very kind at heart

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: at heart, at bottom, inside, in spite of appearance

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: dybest set — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Danish: inderst inde — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Danish: i bund og grund — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Esperanto: animprofunde — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Finnish: pohjimmiltaan — Fundamentally, in essence
  • French: au fond — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Galician: no fondo — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Greek: κατά βάθος (katá váthos) — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Hungarian: végső soron — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Hungarian: alapvetően — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Hungarian: alapjában véve — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Hungarian: igazából — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Hungarian: lelke mélyén — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Hungarian: legbelül — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Icelandic: inn við beinið — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Icelandic: undirniðri — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Italian: in fondo — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Italian: sotto sotto — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Norwegian Bokmål: innerst inne — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Norwegian Bokmål: dypest sett — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Norwegian Bokmål: i virkeligheten — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Norwegian Bokmål: i bunn og grunn — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Polish: w głębi duszy — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Portuguese: no fundo — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Russian: в глубине души (v glubine duši) — Fundamentally, in essence
  • Spanish: en el fondo — Fundamentally, in essence