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Profanation vs Profanity - What's the difference?

profanation | profanity |

As nouns the difference between profanation and profanity

is that profanation is the act of profaning; desecration, blasphemous behaviour, defilement while profanity is the quality of being profane.

profanation

English

Noun

(profanations)
  • The act of profaning; desecration, blasphemous behaviour, defilement.
  • *, II.37:
  • *:those which mocke and condemne it, intend neverthelesse to wrong this noble vertue; but onely to condemne the abuse and profanation of so sacred a title.
  • *1826-06 , The Gentleman's Magazine , page 528:
  • *:but there is a time and a season for all things, and we look upon such attempts as that before us, with a certain portion of respect for a good intention, but as a lamentable want of judgment and good taste, not to speak of a familiarity with the phraseology of Scripture, little short of profanation .
  • profanity

    Alternative forms

    * prophanity (qualifier)

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The quality of being profane.
  • (countable) Obscene, lewd or abusive language.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-14, author= Sam Leith
  • , volume=189, issue=1, page=37, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Where the profound meets the profane , passage=Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity ", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself.}}