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 atheistical
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
Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 16 July 2025
Lee Elia, the MLB manager best remembered for one of the best profane rants in baseball history, died Wednesday at 87.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 11 July 2025
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
An unrecognizable Cruise — bald, overweight, hairy — as the profane Les Grossman, a greedy studio executive (is there any other kind?), steals Ben Stiller’s movie.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 16 July 2025
Lee Elia, the MLB manager best remembered for one of the best profane rants in baseball history, died Wednesday at 87.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 11 July 2025
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
-
Drifting between moving-image formats and collaging local textures and bygone voices, Oscar Ruiz Navia’s film reflects on loss and mourning as experiences of temporal dislocation.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Without temporal intelligence, scale becomes noise.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
To authenticate Trump's note and the obscene drawing that accompanied it, Journal reporters claim to have seen the album and talked to people knowledgeable about it.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Aug. 2025
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Guests will enjoy the experience free from disruptive behavior, foul language, obscene gestures, fighting, unruly conduct or inconsiderate actions.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The chances that the data would be corrupted three times is very unlikely, Kinget points out.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
10 Aug. 2025
-
Jefferson and his supporters understood that such mixing of church and state corrupted both.—
Time,
Time,
10 July 2025
Verb
-
There is no doubt that private actors can misuse information and misuse technology to commit crimes.—
Norbert Michel,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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An 83-year-old former pastor and food bank director has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for charitable theft and patronizing prostitution after being found guilty July 31 of misusing donations meant to serve needy residents.—
Katie Nixon,
The Tennessean,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
According to Calo, the court order doesn't technically violate OpenAI's terms of service, which say the company must retain data to comply with legal orders.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
16 Aug. 2025
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The idea of making this sort of gesture, at a time when Texas Republicans are violating the spirit of the rules, is understandably hard for Democrats to consider.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Wishing you a weekend of wholesome bites, secular prayers, and fresh discoveries.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
8 Aug. 2025
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The company has a strong competitive advantage in addressing secular trends such as artificial intelligence, datacenter, cybersecurity, cloud migration, e-commerce and high customer switching costs.—
Larry Light,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Her choice to respond by telling me to 'shut the f*** up' and to 'calm my p*****' was vulgar, dismissive and escalated the issue entirely.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
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As deadly wildfires raged across Southern California in January, a Los Angeles city official lamented to the city council and others how they were forced to listen to hateful, vulgar language from some members of the public.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Although Israel did not fully eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities, its air campaign delayed, degraded, and deterred Iran’s ambitions, and further transformed the Middle East’spolitical landscape.—
DAVID A. DEPTULA,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Aug. 2025
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They are also believed to degrade water quality, which can hurt sensitive organisms like freshwater mussels.—
Madeline Heim,
jsonline.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Profane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profane. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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