Profanity

Profanity, also known as swearing, are words which are considered to be impolite, effrontery, not nice, inappropriate, low-class or offensive. The adjective is profane. Profanities can also be called strong words, swear words, dirty words, vulgar words, strong language, obscenity, vulgarity, obscene language, vulgar language, or expletives. It can be called swearing, although this also has a normal meaning of making a "solemn promise". A profanity usually refers to social customs, sexual content or bodily functions. These are things that people feel very strongly about. In some languages, such as French, there is more profanity about religion than most other topics. This is the original meaning, from a Latin word meaning "before the temple".

Religious profanity is called blasphemy. The verb is to blaspheme and the adjective is 'blasphemous'. Saying “God!” or “Jesus Christ!” as an expression of surprise or annoyance is considered by many to be blasphemy, mostly because one of the Ten Commandments says not to use God's name "in vain" (without substance or without relevance). Swearing oaths can also be considered wrong by some who follow Jesus' teaching against swearing oaths in the Gospels (such as Matthew 5:34).

A profanity can be a word or gesture or some other form of behavior.^[1]

Different words can be profane to different people, and what words are thought of as profanity in English can change over time.

Whether a word is a profanity will always depend on the way people think. Some people will be offended by something, while others will not be. Words which should not be used are taboo words. Using such words is thought by some people to be a sin. For example, some Christians and some Muslims believe that swearing is a sin.^[2]

1. ↑ "Definition of Profane", emphasis on original, Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, retrieved on June 5, 2007.
2. ↑ "Bad Words [in the Bible]". OpenBible.info. Retrieved 30 April 2015.