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profane - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'profane' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Profane [ a.]
- Not sacred or holy; not possessing peculiar sanctity; unconsecrated; hence, relating to matters other than sacred; secular; -- opposed to sacred, religious, or inspired; as, a profane place.
- Unclean; impure; polluted; unholy.
- Treating sacred things with contempt, disrespect, irreverence, or undue familiarity; irreverent; impious.
- Irreverent in language; taking the name of God in vain; given to swearing; blasphemous; as, a profane person, word, oath, or tongue.
- To violate, as anything sacred; to treat with abuse, irreverence, obloquy, or contempt; to desecrate; to pollute; as, to profane the name of God; to profane the Scriptures, or the ordinance of God.
- To put to a wrong or unworthy use; to make a base employment of; to debase; to abuse; to defile.

Meaning of 'profane' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . profane [ v]
Meaning (1):
- corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality
Example in sentence:
  • corrupt the morals;
  • debauch the young people with wine and women;
  • Do school counselors subvert young children?;
  • Socrates was accused of corrupting young men
Meaning (2):
- violate the sacred character of a place or language
Example in sentence:
  • desecrate a cemetery;
  • profane the name of God;
  • violate the sanctity of the church
3 . profane [ a]
Meaning (3):
- not concerned with or devoted to religion
Example in sentence:
  • children being brought up in an entirely profane environment;
  • sacred and profane music;
  • secular architecture;
  • secular drama
4 . profane [ s]
Meaning (4):
- grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred
Example in sentence:
  • blasphemous rites of a witches' Sabbath;
  • it is sacrilegious to enter with shoes on;
  • profane utterances against the Church
Meaning (5):
- characterized by profanity or cursing
Example in sentence:
  • blue language;
  • foul-mouthed and blasphemous;
  • profane words

Nearby Words:

pro pro rata pro thyalosoma pro- proa proach proant proatlas probabiliorism probabiliorist

See 'profane' also in:

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Related Definitions

  • Profane
    Profane is the ordinary and commonplace elements of life, as distinguished from the sacred.

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