1
as in curse
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression
a rap song that is filled with profanities
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in vulgarity
the quality or state of being obscene
once notorious for its profanity, that 1950s best seller will strike today's readers as lamentably tame
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of profanity
People who swear frequently are sometimes perceived as angry, hostile, or aggressive, so there’s a potential tipping point to using profanity.
—
Stacey Colino, Time, 1 Apr. 2025
The company was formed after its predecessor, VidAngel, reorganized in bankruptcy following a $62 million judgment against it for distributing unlicensed content that censored graphic violence, nudity and profanity in films and TV shows.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025
Some of the building’s windows had been smashed and profanities scrawled on the walls.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025
Being attentive to nuances in how curse words are used in different settings can guide you toward a more productive relationship with profanity.
—Stacey Colino, Time, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profanity
Stacey Colino, Time, 1 Apr. 2025
The company was formed after its predecessor, VidAngel, reorganized in bankruptcy following a $62 million judgment against it for distributing unlicensed content that censored graphic violence, nudity and profanity in films and TV shows.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025
Some of the building’s windows had been smashed and profanities scrawled on the walls.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025
Being attentive to nuances in how curse words are used in different settings can guide you toward a more productive relationship with profanity.
—Stacey Colino, Time, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profanity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profanity
Noun
-
After turning undead and hiding her bite wound, Mary easily gets permission to re-enter the building, and quickly seduces Stack, before murdering him and infecting him with the vampire curse.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Maybe that’s more blessing than curse in our age of baldly allegorical horror movies.—
A.A. Dowd,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Lashing out from the White House, Mr. Trump used a vulgarity to accuse Mr. Xi and Mr. Lam of plotting to exploit the United States.—
Ann Scott Tyson,
Christian Science Monitor,
15 Apr. 2025
-
Those incidents range from keying swastikas to spray-painting other vulgarities.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Apart from any constitutional questions, there is also the problem that confessional language issued by the secretary of state in his official capacity distorts the message of Easter.—
Chloe Breyer,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Pope Francis preached the same gospel in different language.—
John Hope Bryant,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Is this the kind of situation where mild swears seem generally used?—
Stacey Colino,
Time,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Could a nice good swear on the pitch to express one’s anger stop a player from lashing out physically, channelling their anger through their vocal cords rather than their fists?—
Nick Miller,
The Athletic,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
And while producers could appeal the board’s obscenity rulings, most did not.—
Mike Klingaman,
Baltimore Sun,
15 Apr. 2025
-
Skinner’s name was becoming a kind of obscenity in certain pockets of the terraces.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
As expletives begin flying, Conrad arrives to calm things down.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
27 Apr. 2025
-
No expletive would cover the lazy passing in the build-up, Mads Hermansen straying into the wilderness, the lack of cohesion or urgency.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
And, when the alarm wails hours before dawn, human cusses of angry protest join the chorus of budget appliances failing before their time.—
Virginia Konchan,
The New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2024
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My grandmother extended a ladder up into this tough old cuss of a tree and climbed up, at some risk, to pick the bulging fruit.—
Jim Meddleton,
The Christian Science Monitor,
1 May 2024
Noun
-
As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, the expression not hardly is considered a vulgarism.—
NR Editors,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2020
-
The British cringed over new American accents, coinages and vulgarisms.—
Time,
Time,
11 June 2019
Cite this Entry
“Profanity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profanity. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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