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
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of profanity
Instagram’s filters screen out content outside PG-13 norms, including strong profanity, depictions of drug use or dangerous stunts.
—
Larry Magid, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025
Hosts like Kristen Stewart, Sam Rockwell and Ariana Grande have all dropped uncensored profanity during their monologues or sketches.
—William Earl, Variety, 19 Oct. 2025
Insults and profanity were heard in a fan’s video of the exchange.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2025
Kid Rock took aim at Live Nation Entertainment and its ticketing subsidiary Ticketmaster in a profanity-laden diatribe posted to social media on Tuesday.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profanity
Larry Magid, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025
Hosts like Kristen Stewart, Sam Rockwell and Ariana Grande have all dropped uncensored profanity during their monologues or sketches.
—William Earl, Variety, 19 Oct. 2025
Insults and profanity were heard in a fan’s video of the exchange.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2025
Kid Rock took aim at Live Nation Entertainment and its ticketing subsidiary Ticketmaster in a profanity-laden diatribe posted to social media on Tuesday.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profanity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profanity
Noun
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With the launch of the Culling Game in the aftermath, 10 colonies from across Japan are transformed into dens of curses as part of a plot orchestrated by the most wicked sorcerer in history, Noritoshi Kamo.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
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Her goal helped the club secure its first berth in the NWSL playoffs, snapping a ninth-place curse that had haunted the team since its debut in 2021.—
Tamerra Griffin,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The artist’s way, of course, is sincere, even if in the case of Dracula, sincerity begets just under three hours of unsparing cultural commentary and full goose bozo vulgarity.—
Andy Crump,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
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Songs marked explicit mean their lyrics include swear words or other vulgarities.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In a similar vein, Timnit Gebru, a computer scientist writing during her time working at Google, warned of the dangers of large language models acting as stochastic parrots, which repeat language patterns without understanding, and in doing so replicate the biases embedded in their training data.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
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The dust-up stems back to the Spanish singer’s recent appearance on the New York Times’ Popcast, where she was asked about singing in about 13 different languages one her new album Lux and the challenges of communicating with a global audience.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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He is charged with open and lewd grossness.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
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In fact, plenty of other things in your home surpass the toilet in terms of grossness.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Proponents of the shake method swear that shaking out your laundry will prevent tangling, make drying more efficient, and reduce wrinkles in the process.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
3 Nov. 2025
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Visitors of years past swear by their trick-or-treating hauls from these affluent neighborhoods, specifically the homes of Marissa Meyer (Professorville), Mark Zuckerberg (Crescent Park) and Larry Page and Laurene Powell Jobs (Old Palo Alto).—
John Metcalfe,
Mercury News,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Brown hurled obscenities at the manager and left the building as the fast-food worker screamed in pain, according to the footage.—
Mitch Picasso,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Nineteenth century reformers and religious authorities condemned the circus as an ungodly, drunken spectacle ripe with gender transgressions and obscenities.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Piker went on to make a series of lewd remarks, using expletives to refer to and address former Governor Cuomo.—
Sirena Bergman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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The resident exited the vehicle and uttered an expletive.—
Natasha Korecki,
NBC news,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Profanity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profanity. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
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