profane

pro·fane

 (prō-fān′, prə-)

adj.

1. Marked by contempt or irreverence for what is sacred.

2. Nonreligious in subject matter, form, or use; secular: sacred and profane music.

3. Not admitted into a body of secret knowledge or ritual; uninitiated.

4. Vulgar; coarse.

tr.v. pro·faned, pro·fan·ing, pro·fanes

1. To treat with irreverence: profane the name of God.

2. To put to an improper, unworthy, or degrading use; abuse.

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[Middle English prophane, from Old French, from Latin profānus, from prō fānō, in front of the temple : prō-, before, outside; see pro-¹ + fānō, ablative of fānum, temple; see dhēs- in Indo-European roots.]

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pro·fan′a·to′ry (prō-făn′ə-tôr′ē, prə-) adj.

pro·fane′ly adv.

pro·fan′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

profane

(prəˈfeɪn)

adj

1. having or indicating contempt, irreverence, or disrespect for a divinity or something sacred

2. (Ecclesiastical Terms) not designed or used for religious purposes; secular

3. (Ecclesiastical Terms) not initiated into the inner mysteries or sacred rites

4. vulgar, coarse, or blasphemous: profane language.

vb (tr)

5. to treat or use (something sacred) with irreverence

6. to put to an unworthy or improper use

[C15: from Latin profānus outside the temple, from pro-¹ + fānum temple]

profanation n

profanatory adj

proˈfanely adv

proˈfaneness n

proˈfaner n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pro•fane

(prəˈfeɪn, proʊ-)

adj., v. -faned, -fan•ing. adj.

1. showing irreverence toward God or sacred things; irreligious; blasphemous.

2. not devoted to holy purposes; secular (opposed to sacred).

3. unholy; heathen; pagan: profane rites.

4. not initiated into religious rites or mysteries.

5. coarse or vulgar.

v.t.

6. to misuse (anything sacred or holy); defile; debase.

[1350–1400; (adj.) Middle English < Latin profānus secular, sacrilegious]

pro•fane′ly, adv.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

profane

Past participle: profaned
Gerund: profaning

Imperative

profane

profane

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	profane - corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality; "debauch the young people with wine and women"; "Socrates was accused of corrupting young men"; "Do school counselors subvert young children?"; "corrupt the morals" corrupt, debase, debauch, demoralise, demoralize, deprave, misdirect, pervert, vitiate, subvert alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" carnalise, sensualise, sensualize, carnalize - debase through carnal gratification infect - corrupt with ideas or an ideology; "society was infected by racism" lead astray, lead off - teach immoral behavior to; "It was common practice to lead off the young ones, and teach them bad habits" poison - spoil as if by poison; "poison someone's mind"; "poison the atmosphere in the office" suborn - incite to commit a crime or an evil deed; "He suborned his butler to cover up the murder of his wife"
	2.	profane - violate the sacred character of a place or language; "desecrate a cemetery"; "violate the sanctity of the church"; "profane the name of God" desecrate, outrage, violate assail, assault, set on, attack - attack someone physically or emotionally; "The mugger assaulted the woman"; "Nightmares assailed him regularly"
Adj.	1.	profane - characterized by profanity or cursing; "foul-mouthed and blasphemous"; "blue language"; "profane words" blasphemous, blue dirty - (of behavior or especially language) characterized by obscenity or indecency; "dirty words"; "a dirty old man"; "dirty books and movies"; "boys telling dirty jokes"; "has a dirty mouth"
	2.	profane - not concerned with or devoted to religion; "sacred and profane music"; "secular drama"; "secular architecture", "children being brought up in an entirely profane environment" secular earthly - of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven; "earthly beings"; "believed that our earthly life is all that matters"; "earthly love"; "our earthly home" impious - lacking piety or reverence for a god worldly, secular, temporal - characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world; "worldly goods and advancement"; "temporal possessions of the church" sacred - concerned with religion or religious purposes; "sacred texts"; "sacred rites"; "sacred music"
	3.	profane - not holy because unconsecrated or impure or defiled unconsecrated, unsanctified unhallowed, unholy - not hallowed or consecrated
	4.	profane - grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred; "blasphemous rites of a witches' Sabbath"; "profane utterances against the Church"; "it is sacrilegious to enter with shoes on" blasphemous, sacrilegious irreverent - showing lack of due respect or veneration; "irreverent scholars mocking sacred things"; "noisy irreverent tourists"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

profane

adjective

1. sacrilegious, wicked, irreverent, sinful, disrespectful, heathen, impure, godless, ungodly, irreligious, impious, idolatrous a hard-drinking, profane Irishman
sacrilegious clean, religious, spiritual, holy, proper, sacred, respectful, reverent, decorous

2. crude, foul, obscene, abusive, coarse, filthy, vulgar, blasphemous a campaign against suggestive and profane lyrics in country songs

3. secular, lay, temporal, unholy, worldly, unconsecrated, unhallowed, unsanctified Churches should not be used for profane or secular purposes.

verb

1. desecrate, violate, abuse, prostitute, contaminate, pollute, pervert, misuse, debase, defile, vitiate, commit sacrilege They have profaned the traditions of the Church.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

profane

adjective

1. Showing irreverence and contempt for something sacred:

blasphemous, sacrilegious.

2. Not religious in subject matter, form, or use:

lay, secular, temporal, worldly.

3. Offensive to accepted standards of decency:

barnyard, bawdy, broad, coarse, dirty, Fescennine, filthy, foul, gross, lewd, nasty, obscene, ribald, scatologic, scatological, scurrilous, smutty, vulgar.

Slang: raunchy.

verb

To spoil or mar the sanctity of:

defile, desecrate, pollute, violate.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

entweihenprofanweltlich

βέβηλος

dédaignerprofanervioler

blasfemoprofanoempioirriverenzalaico

profanarprofano

profane

[prəˈfeɪn]

A. ADJ

1. (= secular) → profano

2. (= irreverent) [person, language] → blasfemo

B. VT → profanar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

profane

[prəˈfeɪn] adj

(= obscene) → profane
profane language → obscénités fpl

(= lay, secular) → profane

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

profane

adj

(= irreverent, sacrilegious) → (gottes)lästerlich; don’t be profane → lästere nicht; to use profane language → gotteslästerlich fluchen, lästern; a profane expression → eine Gotteslästerung

(= secular) → weltlich, profan

vt → entweihen, profanieren

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

profane

[prəˈfeɪn]

1. adj

a. (secular) → profano/a

b. (irreverent) → irriverente; (language) → sacrilego/a

2. vt → profanare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995