What does profaneness mean?
Profaneness names the quality of treating sacred subjects, religious practices, or moral conventions with contempt or disregard. It can describe particularly offensive language, but it is broader than simply swearing: a joke, performance, or attitude may be described as profane when it undermines reverence or treats something sacred as trivial. The word is usually formal and sometimes strongly evaluative, so writers often specify what they consider profane. Related terms include “profanity,” which focuses on offensive words, and “impiety,” which emphasizes disrespect toward religious belief or practice. Profaneness can also refer more broadly to sexual or indecent material that is regarded as improper. Its force comes from the contrast it draws between reverence and contempt, making it useful when discussing the boundaries of language, ritual, humor, and public expression.
nounThe quality or state of being profane, especially showing disrespect for sacred things or using language that is considered offensive or blasphemous.
- The quality or state of being profane, especially irreverence toward sacred matters or the use of offensive language.
"The speaker's profaneness offended some members of the congregation."
"The profaneness of the joke made the ceremony feel less solemn."
"Many religious traditions have objected to what they regard as the profaneness of popular entertainment."
The singular form is far more common; the plural is literary or abstract rather than everyday usage.
"The novel explores the different profanenesses of urban life."
Profaneness is not merely swearing: at its heart, it is the denial of reverence.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does profaneness come from?
The word comes from the adjective “profane,” which was borrowed from Latin profanus, meaning “outside the temple” and, by extension, uninitiated, secular, or not religiously sanctioned. Its later development in English came to include both the secular sense and the sense of irreverence or sacrilege. The related forms “profanity,” “profanely,” and “profanation” preserve the same Latin root, while cognates in other European languages reflect comparable religious and secular distinctions.
How profaneness is actually used
The noun is relatively formal and literary, whereas “profanity” is more common for offensive language. It is often uncountable, though “profanenesses” is occasionally used in abstract or literary contexts.
Easily confused with profaneness
Profaneness is the broader quality or behavior of being profane, whereas profanity more specifically refers to offensive or disrespectful language.
Profaneness concerns lack of reverence or the use of words considered offensive, while obscenity focuses especially on material that is indecent or grossly contrary to accepted standards.