PROFILE Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the noun 'profile' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of profile are contour , outline , and silhouette . While all these words mean "the line that bounds and gives form to something," profile suggests a varied and sharply defined outline against a lighter background. // a portrait of her face in profile

Q: Where would 'contour' be a reasonable alternative to 'profile'?

The synonyms contour and profile are sometimes interchangeable, but contour stresses the quality of an outline or a bounding surface as being smooth, jagged, curving, or sharply angled. // a car with flowing contours

Q: When might 'outline' be a better fit than 'profile'?

While the synonyms outline and profile are close in meaning, outline applies to a line marking the outer limits or edges of a body or mass. // traced the outline of his hand

Q: When could 'silhouette' be used to replace 'profile'?

In some situations, the words silhouette and profile are roughly equivalent. However, silhouette suggests a shape especially of a head or figure with all detail blacked out in shadow leaving only the outline clearly defined. // photograph in silhouette against a bright sky

profile 1 of 2

noun

Definition of profile next

as in contour

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in character sketch

Synonyms & Similar Words

profile

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verb

as in to outline

to produce a representation of the shape of the head as seen from the side his likeness was profiled against a background of vegetation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun profile differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of profile are contour, outline, and silhouette. While all these words mean "the line that bounds and gives form to something," profile suggests a varied and sharply defined outline against a lighter background.

a portrait of her face in profile

Where would contour be a reasonable alternative to profile?

The synonyms contour and profile are sometimes interchangeable, but contour stresses the quality of an outline or a bounding surface as being smooth, jagged, curving, or sharply angled.

a car with flowing contours

When might outline be a better fit than profile?

While the synonyms outline and profile are close in meaning, outline applies to a line marking the outer limits or edges of a body or mass.

traced the outline of his hand

When could silhouette be used to replace profile?

In some situations, the words silhouette and profile are roughly equivalent. However, silhouette suggests a shape especially of a head or figure with all detail blacked out in shadow leaving only the outline clearly defined.

photograph in silhouette against a bright sky

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of profile

Noun

Earlier this month, detectives went to Utah and surreptitiously obtained a DNA sample from Gideon Castro – which tests showed matched the DNA profile taken from the shorts, Thoemmes said. —

Ray Sanchez, CNN, 26 Jan. 2025 No Florida publications were included, as the purpose of the analysis was to look at DeSantis' national media profile. —

Susan Merriam, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2025

Verb

Advertisers and trackers do their best to profile you, to drown you in ads targeting your interests. —

PCMAG, 7 Jan. 2025 In 2017, Times photographer Francine Orr and I profiled Ruffin and his work with the Hollywood 14, a gravely disabled group of homeless people with severe physical and mental illness. —

Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for profile

Recent Examples of Synonyms for profile

Noun

Essentially, the tufts of tiny hairs on gecko feet get so close to the contours in walls and ceilings that electrons from the gecko hair molecules and electrons from the wall molecules interact with each other and create an electromagnetic attraction.

— Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 4 Feb. 2025
Lidar emits laser pulses from an aircraft, allowing for images that penetrate vegetation and reveal the contours beneath.

— Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Feb. 2025