profane
/profane/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred: Showing disrespect or contempt for religious beliefs, objects, or practices.
- Not holy; unconsecrated, impure, or defiled: Lacking a sacred or religious character; secular or worldly.
- Not concerned with or devoted to religion: Relating to or involving secular rather than religious matters.
- Characterized by profanity or cursing: Using vulgar or blasphemous language.
Verb:
- To violate the sacred character of a place or language: To treat something sacred with irreverence or disrespect, thereby desecrating it.
- To corrupt morally: To debase or pervert someone's morals, often through intemperance or sensuality.
Usage Examples
Adjective:
- His profane jokes about the ceremony offended many believers.
- The archaeologist carefully separated the sacred artifacts from the profane objects.
- She leads a profane life, with no interest in spiritual matters.
- The argument escalated into a stream of profane insults.
Verb:
- Invaders profaned the ancient temple by using it as a stable.
- The dictator's propaganda sought to profane the very language of liberty.
- He feared that wealth and power would profane his character.
Advanced Usage
"The profane masses": A term sometimes used to refer to the general, non-religious public, as opposed to a religious elite or clergy.
- The mystic's teachings were considered too complex for the profane masses.
"Profane history": History that deals with secular, non-religious events, as opposed to sacred history.
- The book contrasts sacred scripture with profane history.
Variants and Related Words
Profanation (n): The act of profaning; desecration.
- The profanation of the cemetery caused public outrage.
Profanely (adv): In a profane manner.
- He swore profanely after hitting his thumb with the hammer.
Profanity (n): Profane language; blasphemous or vulgar speech.
- The film was rated R for violence and profanity.
Synonyms
- Adjective (irreverent): Blasphemous, sacrilegious, impious.
- Adjective (secular): Worldly, temporal, nonreligious, lay.
- Verb (desecrate): Defile, violate, debase, degrade.
- Verb (corrupt): Debauch, deprave, pervert, subvert.
Antonyms
- Adjective: Sacred, holy, religious, pious, reverent.
- Verb: Consecrate, sanctify, purify, honor.
Related Phrases
To profane oneself: To engage in behavior that degrades one's own moral or spiritual standing.
- He felt he had profaned himself by accepting the bribe.
The sacred and the profane: A conceptual pair used in sociology and religious studies to distinguish between the realm of the holy and the realm of the everyday secular world.
- Her research focuses on the intersection of the sacred and the profane in modern art.
Adjective
- 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
- not holy because unconsecrated or impure or defiled
- not concerned with or devoted to religion
- sacred and profane music
- secular drama
- secular architecture, children being brought up in an entirely profane environment
- characterized by profanity or cursing
- foul-mouthed and blasphemous
- blue language
- profane words
Verb
- violate the sacred character of a place or language
- desecrate a cemetery
- violate the sanctity of the church
- profane the name of God
- 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