Meaning of Profanity | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The quality of being profane; quality of irreverence, of treating sacred things with contempt.
   uncountable
2. Obscene, lewd or abusive language.
   countable

Equivalents

Examples

“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.”

“He ran up and down the street screaming profanities like a madman.”

“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.”

“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.”

CEFR level