profanity

profanity — noun

1. Language or behaviour that treats a god, a religion, or anything people consider

1.nounB2
Definition

Language or behaviour that treats a god, a religion, or anything people consider holy without proper respect.

Example

The audience gasped when the actor shouted profanity during the live religious broadcast.

uncountable usage for disrespectful language toward holy things

In many traditional communities, any form of profanity near a temple is deeply offensive.

countable: a form of profanity

Common collocations
  • use profanity
  • shout profanity
  • a form of profanity
  • an act of profanity
  • profanity against [religion / holy figure]
Synonyms
  • blasphemy

    stronger, specifically about speaking against God; profanity is broader and can include behaviour

  • irreverence

    softer and more general; can describe any lack of respect, not only toward religion

  • sacrilege

    stronger and often about physical actions against holy objects or places, not just language

Antonyms
  • reverence

    deep respect for something holy; opposite of the attitude shown by profanity

  • piety

    religious devotion and respect; a quality that avoids profanity

Usage Note

Uncountable when referring to the general concept of disrespect toward holy things. Countable when referring to a specific act or utterance — for example, 'That remark was a profanity against our faith.'

Common Mistakes

He committed profanity against the church.
He used profanity against the church.
'Use profanity' is the natural collocation; 'commit profanity' sounds unnatural.

2. A taboo word or rude expression, often about sex or bodily functions, that peopl

2.nounB2
Definition

A taboo word or rude expression, often about sex or bodily functions, that people use when they feel angry, surprised, or strongly emotional.

Example

The movie was full of profanities that made it unsuitable for young children.

plural countable: profanities

When Valentina hit her thumb with the hammer, she let out a string of profanities.

collocation: a string of profanities

Common collocations
  • a string of profanities
  • a stream of profanities
  • shout profanities
  • scream profanities
  • drop a profanity
  • full of profanities
  • use profanity / use profanities
Synonyms
  • swearing

    uncountable, more informal; describes the act of using bad language rather than the words themselves

  • cursing

    common in American English; can mean both swearing and wishing harm on someone

  • obscenity

    stronger and more formal; usually relates specifically to sexual content that is deeply offensive

  • vulgarity

    broader; includes rude jokes and toilet humour, not just taboo words

Antonyms
  • politeness

    socially appropriate language; the opposite of using offensive words

  • decorum

    formal, proper behaviour and speech expected in serious settings

Usage Note

Almost always countable in this sense. The plural form 'profanities' is very common when listing or describing multiple offensive words. Less formal than 'obscenity'.

Common Mistakes

That movie has a lot of profanity words.
That movie has a lot of profanity.' (uncountable, general) OR ✅ 'That movie has a lot of profanities.' (countable, specific words)
'Profanity' already refers to words; do not add 'words' after it.

Word family

  • profane
    adjectiveB2
  • profane
    verbC1
  • profanely
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Profanity is the broadest term in this group and covers any offensive language, including both religious irreverence and taboo swear words. Swearing (common in both British and American English) usually describes using bad words to express anger or surprise — it focuses on the act rather than the words themselves. Cursing is more frequent in American English and can mean either using bad language or wishing harm on someone (for example, cursing a driver who cut you off). Obscenity is the strongest and most formal of the four; it usually refers to language related to sex that most people find deeply shocking. A film might be rated R for profanity, but it would be banned for obscenity.

profanity ↗swearingcursingobscenity

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • free of profanity
  • a string of profanities
  • full of profanities

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Comes from Latin profanus, meaning 'outside the temple, not sacred.' The word is made up of pro- ('before, outside') and fanum ('temple, shrine'). In ancient Rome, things inside the temple were holy, and things outside were ordinary. Over time, profanus came to describe language or behaviour that treats holy things with disrespect. The word entered English through Old French profané in the 1600s.