profanity

plural profanities · alternative prophanity

1. uncountableThe quality of being profane; quality of irreverence, of treating sacred things with contempt.

   The overwhelming power of his imagination led him to contemplate acts of impiety and profanity, and to a vivid realisation of the dangers these involved.

   1910, John William Cousin, “Bunyan, John”, in A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

2. countableObscene, lewd or abusive language.

   He ran up and down the street screaming profanities like a madman.

   2 more examples

   Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself.

   2013 June 14, Sam Leith, “Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37

   Mr. [Kash] Patel said he would not tolerate any more “Mickey Mouse operations,” an official on the call recounted. It was one of his few utterances without profanity, the person added.

   2025 September 12, Glenn Thrush, Devlin Barrett, Adam Goldman, “Patel and F.B.I. Face Scrutiny as Kirk’s Killer Remains at Large”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

   Synonyms: swear word, curse word, vulgarity