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Fine Dictionary

profanity

proʊˈfænəti
WordNet
Wooded landscape in which Christ tells the Pharisees that his disciples do not profane the Sabbath if they feed themselves with ears of wheat from the field to satisfy their hunger. In the field the disciples pluck ears of corn. On the far right, a farmer's couple with their dog is watching from a distance.
Wooded landscape in which Christ tells the Pharisees that his disciples do not profane the Sabbath if they feed themselves with ears of wheat from the field to satisfy their hunger. In the field the disciples pluck ears of corn. On the far right, a farmer's couple with their dog is watching from a distance.
  1. (n) profanity
    vulgar or irreverent speech or action
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
  1. Profanity
    That which is profane; profane language or acts. "The brisk interchange of profanity and folly."
  2. Profanity
    The quality or state of being profane; profaneness; irreverence; esp., the use of profane language; blasphemy.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
  1. (n) profanity
    Profaneness; the quality of being profane.
  2. (n) profanity
    That which is profane; profane language or conduct.
  3. (n) profanity
    Synonyms Blasphemy, Profanity. See blasphemy.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
  1. Profanity
    irreverence: that which is profane: profane language or conduct
Quotations
Theodor W. Adorno
Art is permitted to survive only if it renounces the right to be different, and integrates itself into the omnipotent realm of the profane.
Theodor W. Adorno
Georges Bataille
Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not for its own sake, but for the joy brought by the certainty of profaning it.
Georges Bataille
Henry Van Dyke
Half of the secular unrest and dismal, profane sadness of modern society comes from the vain ideas that every man is bound to be a critic for life.
Henry Van Dyke
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The pest of society are the egotist, they are dull and bright, sacred and profane, course and fine. It is a disease that like the flu falls on all constitutions.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker, with no past at my back.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.
Mark Twain
Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary L. profanitas,

Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary Fr.,—L. profanus—pro, before, fanum, a temple.

Usage in the news

Oct 22, 2012 — North Country Green Party candidate Donald Hassig says he left a profane voice mail message over the weekend on the answering machine of a woman who serves as one of his party's top state officials. northcountrypublicradio.org

Avril Lavigne drops profanities at a baseball game. ashingtonpost.com

First off, I guess I have to say that the following video contains profanity. kfmx.com

This video includes a TON of profanity, including the F-word. 98kool.com

Exercise, the word, might sound like profanity to some people. readthehook.com

IN America, where people rank among the most religious in the industrialized world, to burn a church is to commit an act of a singular profanity. nytimes.com

As with every year, it was a mix of the ridiculous and the sublime, the sacred and the profane. therepublic.com

Commissioner Bud Selig reacted with a profanity Thursday when asked for an update on the A's bid to build a ballpark in San Jose. marinij.com

MLive readers support SVSU as student aims protest censorship with profanity on bulletin board . mlive.com

Constitutionality of Middelboro profanity bylaw in question. tauntongazette.com

Rated R (profanity, graphic violence, torture). nypost.com

Yes, Virginia, profane comedy can feel cozy. okgazette.com

Yet Mahanic, who was dismissed Nov 9 after his profanity-laced rant toward his team went viral on the Internet, said his heart was in the right place. golfweek.com

An appeals court has ruled that a Brown County judge acted within her authority when tacking on a year to a prison inmate's sentence following a profanity-laced exchange in court. nflam.com

Bellevue Police Chief Linda Pillo says the officers used profanity after a Seattle police officer asked a female companion of theirs to pick up an item of litter. kxly.com

Usage in literature

I felt as if I had been almost guilty of profanation in my thoughtless intrusion. "The Caxtons, Complete" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

You cry that truth is profaned when your dogmas are questioned. "A Strange Story, Complete" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

He profaned the grave! "My Novel, Complete" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

The Northern radicals were wont to say, "Let the South go," the more profane among them interjecting "to hell! "Marse Henry, Complete" by Henry Watterson

His profanity, threats and imprecations were fearful. "The Wonders of Prayer" by Various

The east, then, is, in Masonry, the symbol of the order, and the north the symbol of the profane world. "The Symbolism of Freemasonry" by Albert G. Mackey

During all this time I was never joined in profession of religion with any, being afraid both of professor and profane. "The World's Greatest Books, Vol IX." by Edited by Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton

It cannot affect the profane, who are, of course, beyond its pale. "The Principles of Masonic Law" by Albert G. Mackey

They seemed more wicked and profane the farther west we walked. "Death Valley in '49" by William Lewis Manly

The great Church and hierarchy are profaned. "The Art Of The Moving Picture" by Vachel Lindsay

Usage in poetry
Profane Love speaks
``I am the Goddess mortals call Profane,
Yet worship me as though I were divine;
Over their lives, unrecognised, I reign,
For all their thoughts are mine.
"Sacred And Profane Love" by Alfred Austin Author object (26)
"Oft, when a mortal vow profanes my ear,
My sire's dread fury murmurs through the sky;
And should I yield—his instant rage appears;
He darts th' uplifted vengeance—and I die.
"Elegy XVI. He Suggests the Advantage of Birth To a Person of Merit" by William Shenstone Author object (719)
Say, ye apostate and profane,
Wretches, who blush not to disdain
Allegiance to your God,--
Did e'er your idly wasted love
Of virtue for her sake remove
And lift you from the crowd?
"An Ode, On Reading Mr. Richardson's History Of Sir Charles Grandison" by William Cowper Author object (696)
"The world is frantic—fly the race profane—.
Nor I, nor you, shall its compassion move:
Come, friendly let us wander and complain;
And tell me, Shepherd! hast thou seen my love?
"Elegy XVI. He Suggests the Advantage of Birth To a Person of Merit" by William Shenstone Author object (719)
``I listened tremblingly while Love Profane
Strove to entice you to the worldling's throne,
Along the worldling's way, but strove in vain.
Now hath She gone, and we are here alone.''
"Sacred And Profane Love" by Alfred Austin Author object (26)
Where are thy children? At play on the street;
Romping and shouting the varlets I meet;
Ah, my soul it is sad, and my heart it is pained,
For children neglected and Sabbaths profaned!
"The Demon Drink!" by Janet Hamilton