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Webster 1913 Edition


Profanity

Pro-fan′i-ty

,
Noun.
[L.
profanitas
.]
1.
The quality or state of being profane; profaneness; irreverence; esp., the use of profane language; blasphemy.
2.
That which is profane; profane language or acts.
The brisk interchange of
profanity
and folly.
Buckminster.

Webster 1828 Edition


Profanity

PROFAN'ITY

,
Noun.
Profaneness, which see.
In a revel of debauchery, amid the brisk interchange of profanity and folly, religion might appear a dumb, unsocial intruder.

Definition 2024


profanity

profanity

English

Alternative forms

Noun

profanity (countable and uncountable, plural profanities)

  1. (uncountable) The quality of being profane.
    His profanity left the entire audience in shock.
  2. (countable) Obscene, lewd or abusive language.
    • 2013 June 14, Sam Leith, Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37:
      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.
    He ran up and down the street screaming profanities like a madman.

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