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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to misuse
to put to a bad or improper use
profaned his considerable acting talents by appearing in some wretched movies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 19 Apr. 2026
Ball was also fined an additional $25,000 for using profane language during a live postgame television interview on Tuesday.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 16 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
The bar embodies the new season’s unusual tension between the spiritual and the profane, jutting out into the desert as an establishment devoted to sin that Rue sees as her salvation.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 19 Apr. 2026
Ball was also fined an additional $25,000 for using profane language during a live postgame television interview on Tuesday.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 16 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 first is their temporal nature—they are specifically designed for live and unfolding events, and their modality reflects this liveness.—
Daniel Jackson,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Her formidable, untitled 2026 sphinx regally commands its space among ancient Egyptian and Roman sculpture, a marvel of the cross-temporal and cross-spatial, spiked with specific references to Black self-determination.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Historians deal in secular truths.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
These fundamentals position it well for defensiveness and secular growth, even if broader equity returns compress.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
Faced with that reality, our inability to relate to one another becomes almost obscene.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
6 May 2026
-
For instance, the ruling recognized that the government’s need to protect national security might require it to prevent publication of the number and location of troops and that the primary requirements of decency might require censorship of obscene publications.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Under eclipses, artifacts will also be corrupted and have drawbacks that can be cleansed by beating the world’s Overlord.—
Gieson Cacho,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
-
However, what the young Valdi captures on these early scenes is the sense that whatever love Michael had for music and performance had become immediately corrupted.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Maduko was the head of the community college system when he was picked last year to serve as the interim chancellor of CSCU after newspaper reports and two state audits revealed that Chancellor Terrence Cheng had misused his state credit card and other funds.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
2 May 2026
-
The same tools used to design beneficial organisms could potentially be misused.—
André O. Hudson,
The Conversation,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Haines is among more than 1,500 property owners who filed a federal lawsuit arguing the moratorium enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention violated the Fifth Amendment by unlawfully denying them compensation.—
Michael Casey,
Fortune,
3 May 2026
-
But after the state complied, white plaintiffs sued, saying the second district drawn with racial goals in mind violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.—
Clarence Page,
Chicago Tribune,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
In the face of shooting and shooting-up deaths, if permanent gates — which are, after all, only a physical manifestation of the existing curfew — will deter mischief and malfeasance post-midnight, then my vote is to lock it up.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
8 May 2026
-
This may well be true, according to BNP Paribas Asset Management portfolio manager Sophie Huynh, but physical constraints could pose a bigger problem to profits than the cycle itself.—
Joseph Wilkins,
CNBC,
8 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 10 May. 2026.
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