Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

profane

Syllabification: (pro·fane)
Pronunciation: /prəˈfān, prō-/

Translate profane | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of profane

adjective

  • 1relating or devoted to that which is not sacred or biblical; secular rather than religious:a talk that tackled topics both sacred and profane
  • (of a person) not initiated into religious rites or any esoteric knowledge:he was an agnostic, a profane man
  • 2(of a person or their behavior) not respectful of orthodox religious practice; irreverent:desecration of the temple by profane adolescents
  • (of language) blasphemous or obscene.

verb

[with object]
  • treat (something sacred) with irreverence or disrespect:it was a serious matter to profane a tomb

Derivatives

profanation

Pronunciation: /ˌpräfəˈnāSHən, ˌprō-/

noun

profanely

adverb

profaneness

noun

profaner

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'heathen'): from Old French prophane, from Latin profanus 'outside the temple, not sacred', from pro- (from pro 'before') + fanum 'temple'

profane in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of profane in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

offing

/ ˈɒfɪŋ /
noun
the more distant part of the sea in view …