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
In the comments section, several TikTok users noted that some fans have taken to slamming Evans with the same profanity whenever Ballerini performs the song at her concerts.
—
Ashley Hume, Fox News, 26 Feb. 2025
Johansson seemed to be a good sport, but also a sport who couldn’t help herself from letting a few profanities slip.
—Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2025
Any time the Federal Communications Commission bans profanity from the airwaves, say, or whenever the Environmental Protection Agency issues a permit, the agency must comply with APA procedures.
—Christina Gatti, NPR, 8 Feb. 2025
Lemon’s video contains profanity and a racial slur.
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profanity
Ashley Hume, Fox News, 26 Feb. 2025
Johansson seemed to be a good sport, but also a sport who couldn’t help herself from letting a few profanities slip.
—Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2025
Any time the Federal Communications Commission bans profanity from the airwaves, say, or whenever the Environmental Protection Agency issues a permit, the agency must comply with APA procedures.
—Christina Gatti, NPR, 8 Feb. 2025
Lemon’s video contains profanity and a racial slur.
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profanity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profanity
Noun
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Then, Democrats have to be thinking about what happens if Republicans only have a mild case of the midterm curse.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
14 Mar. 2025
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Flubber can do anything, which is both a blessing and a curse for Professor Brainard.—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The real marvel, in this instance, being the avoidance of vulgarity.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2025
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Attention-grabbing vulgarity aside, Pearl was talking hoops, not other things that have been central to Auburn men’s basketball discourse of late.—
Joe Rexrode,
The Athletic,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Owned by the American toy company Hasbro, Monopoly is licensed to 113 countries and printed in 46 languages around the globe.—
Ann Rutledge,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
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The production weaves together four Sichuan tales spanning thousands of years, connected through the universal language of food and feasting.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
16 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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The station asked the band not to include the swears.—
Kris Holt,
Forbes,
2 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Yet the movie also contains, by my count, more than a dozen significant obscenities, as well as enough death to scar the Bluey crowd for life.—
Graham Hillard,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Mar. 2025
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Other states don’t allow numerical digits, obscenity, or names of people who have committed atrocities, according to US Birth Certificates.—
Anna Halkidis,
Parents,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Carey then stood, accused Edwards of lying and used a string of expletives until police escorted him out of the auditorium.—
Hannah Schoenbaum,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Mar. 2025
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Around the five-second mark in the video, the toddler turns to the camera, still in her mom's arms, to mime along to an expletive in the GloRilla track playing over the video.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, the expression not hardly is considered a vulgarism.—
NR Editors,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2020
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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 31 Mar. 2025.
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