Dictionary

profanity en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• [pɹəˈfɛənɪti] (US) /æ/ raising
• [pɹoʊˈfɛənɪti] (US) /æ/ raising
• /pɹəˈfænɪti/ (UK)
• /pɹoʊˈfænɪti/ (US)
• /pɹəˈfænɪti/ (US)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin profānitās. By surface analysis, profane + -ity.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The quality of being profane; quality of irreverence, of treating sacred things with contempt.
   • The overwhelming power of his imagination led him to contemplate acts of impiety and profanity, and to a vivid realisation of the dangers these involved. 1910, John William Cousin, “Bunyan, John”, in A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature:
2. (countable) Obscene, lewd or abusive language.
   • Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself. 2013 June 14, Sam Leith, “Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37:
   • He ran up and down the street screaming profanities like a madman.
   • Mr. [Kash] Patel said he would not tolerate any more “Mickey Mouse operations,” an official on the call recounted. It was one of his few utterances without profanity, the person added. 2025 September 12, Glenn Thrush, Devlin Barrett, Adam Goldman, “Patel and F.B.I. Face Scrutiny as Kirk’s Killer Remains at Large”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

profanity delay · antiprofanity

Synonyms

swear word · vulgarity · curse word

Translations (86)

fr insanité (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ar تَجْدِيف (quality of being profane) · fi hävyttömyys (quality of being profane) · nci ahcuallahtōlli (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · he גסות (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · de Gotteslästerlichkeit (quality of being profane) · ja 雑言 (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · pt profanidade (quality of being profane) · nb ukvemsord (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ru богоху́льство (quality of being profane) · pt profanidade (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · nb banning (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · id kata-kata kotor (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · pl przekleństwo (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · el αθυροστομία (quality of being profane) · fi kirosana (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ru ру́гань (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · bg богохулство (quality of being profane) · ga mallachtach (quality of being profane) · ru скверносло́вие (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · mk пцо́сти (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · sq lapërdhi (quality of being profane) · ko 욕설 (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ja 冒涜 (quality of being profane) · uk ненормати́вна ле́ксика (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · cmn 粗口 (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · mi kangakanga (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · he ניבול פה (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · mk бого́хулство (quality of being profane) · id bahasa kasar (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ru ненормати́вная ле́ксика (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · jv pisuhan (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · fr vulgarité (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ja 冒瀆 (quality of being profane) · nl krachtterm (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · bg ругатни (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ar بَذَاءَة (quality of being profane) · ar قَبَاحَة (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · sh псо̑вка (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ca profanitat (quality of being profane) · es profanidad (quality of being profane) · tr küfürlü konuşma (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ru профана́ция (quality of being profane) · io juracho (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · es soeza (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · tl tungayaw (quality of being profane) · sq lapërdhi (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · es lenguaje soez (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ko 비어 (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · fr grossièreté (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · fa بیحرمتی (quality of being profane) · de Fluch (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · cmn 髒話 /脏话 (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ja 卑語 (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · id umpatan (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · la turpiloquium (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ru мат (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ko 비속어 (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · el βωμολοχία (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · tr küfür (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · el αθυροστομία (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · de Obszönität (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · fr impiété (quality of being profane) · fi rienaus (quality of being profane) · ota كفر (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ru ма́терщина (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · id bahasa kotor (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ru брань (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · nb kraftuttrykk (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · pl wulgaryzm (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · id kenistaan (quality of being profane) · mk пцо́вки (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · nb bannskap (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · nb banneord (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · de Respektlosigkeit (quality of being profane) · yue 粗口 (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · de Schimpfwort (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · sh psȏvka (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ga naomhaithis (quality of being profane) · ro înjurătură (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ms makian (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · de Profanität (quality of being profane) · id makian (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · fr gros mot (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · uk лихослі́в'я (obscene, lewd or abusive language) · ko 잡언 (obscene, lewd or abusive language)