deep-seated

comparative more deep-seated · comparative deeper-seated · superlative most deep-seated · superlative deepest-seated

1. Physically located at a deep level.

   a deep-seated tumour

   5 more examples

   Weaknesses in the earth’s crust allow deep-seated heat to rise nearer to the surface.

   […] the Ach in the Teeth of the upper Jaw occasions a gnawing Pain deep seated in the Bones of the Face,

   1741, Alexander Monro, The Anatomy of the Human Nerves, Edinburgh: W. Monro and W. Drummond, page 46

   winking knowingly with his comical little deep-seated black eyes

   1852, Susanna Moodie, chapter 4, in Roughing it in the Bush, volume 2, London: Richard Bentley, page 76

   He washed [the food] down with beer and produced a deep-seated belch.

   1961, Leon Uris, Mila 18, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Part 3, Chapter 7, p. 328

   Some of the older people had started weeping, the kind of hemorrhaging, deep-seated sound that can only bring relief to the sufferer.

   2010, Gary Shteyngart, Super Sad True Love Story, New York: Random House, page 187

   Antonyms: superficial, surface-level

2. figurativelyFirmly implanted or established in thought or behavior and difficult to change; deeply ingrained.

   She has a deep-seated belief in the essential goodness of human nature.

   5 more examples

   […] instead of the bright beams that used to play in those eyes, there was now a dark deep-seated sorrow, almost despair.

   1834, Maria Edgeworth, chapter 13, in Helen, volume 3, London: Richard Bentley, pages 261–262

   […] a look in the eye and quality of manner that seemed to testify to some deep-seated terror of the mind.

   1886 January 5, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Remarkable Incident of Dr. Lanyon”, in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 56

   Godmen are India’s major export of the last two decades […]. Once in a while, however, they also acquire a domestic following, by appealing to the deep-seated reverence in all Indians for spiritual wisdom and inner peace,

   1989, Shashi Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, New York: Arcade Publishing, Book 18, p. 406

   Alice, his sister-in-law, he was sure, had meant her offer kindly, and William’s advice had not been ill-intentioned, but they both suffered from a need, he felt, so deep-seated as to be well beyond their understanding, to have him act on their advice.

   2004, Colm Tóibín, chapter 11, in The Master, London: Picador, page 316

   However, little was done, and it was only following new skilled appointments to the Crossrail board that it got a firm grip, with daily meetings held to resolve many of the deep-seated issues.

   2024 April 3, Howard Johnston, “Network News: Weak bosses and staff blamed for Crossrail overspend”, in RAIL, number 1006, page 20

   Synonyms: bred-in-the-bone, deep-rooted, deep-lying