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I was looking for a word to describe someone and I'm certain it exists... to describe a person is usually assumed to be one-dimensional but is in fact not, or even something more literal like a deceptively deep body of water. Does anyone have any suggestions?

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  • Are you looking for profound ?: 1) Having, showing, or requiring great insight or understanding: a profound thinker; 2) Situated at, extending to, or coming from a great depth; deep.
    – user66974
    Commented Jul 5, 2015 at 18:18
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    It's common to say that something or someone "has hidden depths", and it has exactly the meaning you're looking for. (But not for actual water of actually surprising depth, ironically...)
    – j_random_hacker
    Commented Jul 5, 2015 at 23:40

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You can consider:

there's more to someone/something than meets the eye

A person or situation is more complex or interesting than they appear. (Oxford)

It's an idiom, not a single word. But it applies to both someone and something, as required.

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Maybe 'still waters run deep' or 'there's more to a book than its cover'.

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[+amgD]

"Sleeper."

I didn't know of this term until 1996, when I was working towards my CSPA A-CoP (most basic level of skydiving "licence" in Canada, issued by the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association), Buck Whalley--operator of "Mile High Parachuting" used this remark referring to my "until-then-beknownst-even-to-myself" skydiving-related aptitudes.

When I asked what the term meant, he said it to refer to a kind of car, such as a "muscle car that doesn't look/appear at first glance to be one of any remarkable power" (my own paraphrasing).

I don't know of how common or uncommon it is as a colloquialism in English, but perhaps that makes "Sleeper" itself a "sleeper" when it comes to terms q;-)

(As an epilogue, I've since had two cut-away malfunctions that could have been vastly mitigated with more care on my part and haven't skydive'n since 2005... q:-D)

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If you mean "depth" literally, we might say:

  • Be careful when you get into the water. Most people underestimate the depth at this point.
  • The beach looks perfectly safe but it is deceiving. Many a swimmer has been taken by the undertow.

As for people, how about...

  • "I think you've underestimated (the depth of) his character".
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  • @LittleEva You're right, "dive" requires "overestimate" (reminds me of the spanish film "The Sea Inside"). but what I actually meant was "get into the water". I'll edit. Thank you.
    – Centaurus
    Commented Jul 5, 2015 at 21:09
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There are several possibilities:

  • Complex

    Not easy to analyse or understand. (Oxford)

  • Intricate

    Very complicated or detailed. (Oxford)

  • Profound

    (Of a person or statement) having or showing great knowledge or insight. (Oxford)

Or as Tushar already mentioned:

  • There's more to someone than meets the eye

    A person or situation is more complex or interesting than they appear. (Oxford)

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I was thinking maybe in terms of "Language Arts", dynamic. Like a dynamic vs flat character.

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  • or confounding.
    – user142979
    Commented Oct 16, 2015 at 2:11
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    Welcome to ELU. It would be great if you could give an example of the word being used in this way - do you have any sources or references?
    – JHCL
    Commented Oct 16, 2015 at 8:04

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