profanity
/pɹəˈfænɪti/noun
profanity is spelled P-R-O-F-A-N-I-T-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, profanity means “The quality of being profane; quality of irreverence, of treating sacred things with contempt” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of profanity is profanities.
How many letters and syllables are in profanity?
| Letters | 9: P-R-O-F-A-N-I-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 26,776th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is profanity?
Profanity appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce profanity?
- UK /pɹəˈfænɪti/
- US /pɹəˈfænɪti/
- US [pɹəˈfɛənɪti]
Profanity has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-profanity.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with profanity?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as profanity from its last stressed vowel (/ænɪti/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of profanity
- profanities plural
- prophanity
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does profanity mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The quality of being profane; quality of irreverence, of treating sacred things with contempt.
- 2
Obscene, lewd or abusive language.
He ran up and down the street screaming profanities like a madman.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Profanity in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | impiété , insanité, gros mot, vulgarité, grossièreté |
| German | Profanität, Respektlosigkeit, Gotteslästerlichkeit , Fluch, Obszönität, Schimpfwort |
| Portuguese | profanidade |
| Spanish | profanidad , lenguaje soez, soeza |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does profanity come from?
Borrowed from Latin profānitās. By surface analysis, profane + -ity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).