profanity
/prəˈfænɪti/
"profanity" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“profanity” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,921 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #26,921
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The quality of being profane; quality of irreverence, of treating sacred things with contempt.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | profanity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /prəˈfænɪti/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #26,921 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “profanity” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for profanity is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /prəˈfænɪti/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,921 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for profanity, with forms such as "porfanity", "pprofanity", and "prfoanity". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin profānitās. By surface analysis, profane + -ity. The correct English form is profanity, spelled P-R-O-F-A-N-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1The quality of being profane; quality of irreverence, of treating sacred things with contempt.
- 2Obscene, lewd or abusive language.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin profānitās. By surface analysis, profane + -ity.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: porfanity,pprofanity,prfoanity,proafnity,profainty,profanitty,profanityy,profaniyt,profannity,profantiy,proffanity,profnaity,prrofanity,rpofanity
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of profanity - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "profanity"?
What does "profanity" mean?
What are common misspellings of "profanity"?
How do you pronounce "profanity"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “profanity”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-F-A-N-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /prəˈfænɪti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.