profanation
/pɹɒfəˈneɪʃ(ə)n/
"profanation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“profanation” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of profaning; desecration, blasphemous behaviour, defilement.
Corpus desk
Index EN-profanation · profanation · English
profanation · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | profanation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pɹɒfəˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “profanation” in English
Rare enough to double-check
profanation is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /pɹɒfəˈneɪʃ(ə)n/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The act of profaning; desecration, blasphemous behaviour, defilement.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for profanation, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French prophanation, profanation, and its source, Late Latin profanatio, from the participle stem of Latin profānō. The correct English form is profanation, spelled P-R-O-F-A-N-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of profaning; desecration, blasphemous behaviour, defilement.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how profanation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
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[…].
[…] 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.
Etymology
From Middle French prophanation, profanation, and its source, Late Latin profanatio, from the participle stem of Latin profānō.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.