1
as in temporal
not involving religion or religious matters
it was hard to juggle the requirements of church and our more profane duties
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in secular
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
offended by the profane language that her coworkers used so casually
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in obscene
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
his idea of dinner table conversation is the telling of profane stories about his alleged sexual exploits
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to corrupt
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
the once-lovely landscape had been profaned by ugly factories
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2
as in to misuse
to put to a bad or improper use
profaned his considerable acting talents by appearing in some wretched movies
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3
as in to violate
to treat (a sacred place or object) shamefully or with great disrespect
invading troops profaned the altar by playing poker on it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of profane
Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
By putting religious and profane art together—a picture of Christ on one wall and Apollo on another, both equalized in their prettiness—Raphael triggered centuries of decadence.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Steve Marble, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2021
The narrative is that of a leader who has experienced vilification at the hands of enemies who are both secular (and thus profane) and intensely demonic.
—Federico Finchelstein, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2020
See All Example Sentences for profane
Adjective
Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine), who has endorsed Porter, points to the late beloved, oft-profane legislative leader John Burton of San Francisco as an example of a double standard.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
By putting religious and profane art together—a picture of Christ on one wall and Apollo on another, both equalized in their prettiness—Raphael triggered centuries of decadence.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Verb
Her husband, the exuberant and often profane former Dodgers manager who won two World Series championships, died Jan. 7 at 93.
—Steve Marble, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2021
The narrative is that of a leader who has experienced vilification at the hands of enemies who are both secular (and thus profane) and intensely demonic.
—Federico Finchelstein, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2020
See All Example Sentences for profane
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profane
Adjective
-
The patterns for specific cities aren’t predictable like temporal seasons, reflecting instead unique elements of each.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
-
But during the imaging process, doctors noticed something else entirely — a four-centimeter mass in the left temporal region of Linkin's brain.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
Its secular cast was not its only imprint.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
-
At least, not according to received wisdom in the secular twenty-first-century West.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
It was seized by the post office (as Rosset had expected) and duly declared obscene by the postmaster of the city of New York, a man named Robert Christenberry.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
-
Who says a man can’t appreciate the gleaming, obscene form of an Aston Martin supercar or the growl of its overpriced engine?—
Alex James Kane,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
-
Systems must remain safe not only when components fail naturally, but when data is corrupted, communication is interrupted or execution is violated.—
John Wall,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
The co-founder of the now defunct FTX crypto exchange is currently serving a 25-year federal prison sentence after he was found guilty of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that misused billions of dollars in customer funds at FTX and its affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research.—
Tanaya Macheel,
CNBC,
8 June 2026
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Furthermore, a recent Financial Times investigation revealed that even when AI developers implement guardrails to prevent bad actors from misusing them, protections can be bypassed using openly available software tools in less than 10 minutes.—
Mohammad Hosseini,
Chicago Tribune,
4 June 2026
Verb
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So Daniel’s book violated those rules, and Louis’ actions within the book did, too.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
7 June 2026
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The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
At the time, detectives collected and preserved physical evidence but were unable to narrow down a suspect.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
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As for agentic commerce, in Jain’s framing, only Google, Anthropic, and Bilt have the breadth of demand-side merchant integrations to power AI commerce in the physical world.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
His father's death during World War II influenced his pursuit of the ministry even amid the officially atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union, according to his obituary on the OCU website.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
-
But there has been a recent rise in secular congregations that explicitly mimic religious organizations and rituals to celebrate atheistic worldviews.—
Jacqui Frost,
The Conversation,
11 Jan. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Profane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profane. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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