1
as in degrading
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
the once-lovely landscape had been profaned by ugly factories
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abusing
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 violating
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profaning
Verb
-
Military planners outlined potential operational concepts aimed at degrading the program, including strikes on key manufacturing and development sites.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026 -
Making buses free risks degrading performance.—
Josh Appel,
Washington Post,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Once installed, NexShield immediately starts abusing Chrome or Edge in the background.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Wearing the device was a requirement of his supervised release after being charged the previous week with abusing Velasquez’s child at the longtime daycare that Patty Bender operated out of her San Martin home.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Ramsey Orta, who famously recorded the police chokehold killing of Eric Garner in 2014, is back in legal hot water, accused of violating his supervised release in a gun case by assaulting two men in a Brooklyn smoke shop last July.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Rice was suspended for six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.—
Jane Harper,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But now, federal prosecutors say Hennen is the fixer behind the biggest point-shaving scandal in history, accused of bribing 39 college players, corrupting 17 programs and fixing — or trying fix — 29 games to enrich himself and other gamblers.—
Andy Sheehan,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Blakeney then recruited other players on the team, corrupting the integrity of games, according to the indictment.—
Paulina Dedaj , Ryan Morik , Andrew Fone,
FOXNews.com,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
She was convicted of misusing her power and violating the trust given to her as a public official.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
10 Feb. 2026
-
While the complaint was pending, Myer allegedly contacted Norwalk police and told them Gabriele was misusing a license plate again, the lawsuit contends.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
And her co-stars—Jacob Elordi as a brooding Heathcliff, Alison Oliver as an angelic Isabella Linton, Hong Chau as a steely Nelly Dean, and Shazad Latif as a swaggering Edgar Linton—would also be subverting our expectations.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
10 Jan. 2026
-
After collaborating with Sotheby’s on a 2024 installation of Impressionism, for which they were tasked with subverting assumptions of the movement, the duo are now conceiving the company’s new restaurant, Marcel, named after the architect.—
Sam Cochran,
Architectural Digest,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The brand, which was based on changing the status quo and perverting common ideas, was a success and Babenzien learned how to build a business.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Unbalanced Or Leaning Tree A weakening root system or poor pruning practices can cause a tree to lean to one side.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
15 Feb. 2026
-
My opponent, Tim O’Hare, has led with ideology and performative politics, reducing transparency, weakening public participation, and creating financial instability through deficit-style budgeting and reserve spending.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Profaning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profaning. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
