noun
-
the state or quality of being profane
-
vulgar or irreverent action, speech, etc
Other Word Forms
- nonprofanity noun
- semiprofanity noun
Etymology
Origin of profanity
From the Late Latin word profānitās, dating back to 1600–10. See profane, -ity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She said she volunteered in November to mediate the meetings, instructing residents to wait their turn to speak or rephrase their questions without profanity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026
More recent performers have included this past year's headliner Kendrick Lamar, the rapper who cut out profanity but still performed a viral diss track of his rival Drake.
From Barron's • Oct. 22, 2025
Older adults were more likely than younger adults to consider it impolite to curse out loud, visibly display profanity or wear headphones or earbuds while talking to someone in person.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2025
Content review is assisted by bots such as ClueBot NG, which identifies profanity and unencyclopedic punctuation like “!!!11.”
From Slate • Aug. 24, 2023
Wal-Mart employees who have bucked the company—by getting involved in a unionization drive or by suing the company for failing to pay overtime—have been fired for breaking the company rule against using profanity.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
