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reating them with contempt or irreverence; irreverent or too familiar treatment or use of what is sacred; desecration; as, the profanation of the Sabbath; the profanation of a sanctuary; the profanation of the name of God.

One who treats sacred things with irreverence, or defiles what is holy; one who uses profane language. Hooker.

r of; as, to proffer a gift; to proffer services; to proffer friendship. Shak. I reck not what wrong that thou me profre. Chaucer.

eneficial; as, a profitable trade; profitable business; a profitable study or profession. What was so profitable to the empire became fatal to the emperor. Arbuthnot. -- Prof"it*a*ble*ness, n. -- Prof"it*a*bly, adv.

nding low, exhibiting or expressing deep humility; lowly; submissive; as, a profound bow. What humble gestures! What profound reverence! Dupp

forward or revolve in the mind; to contrive; to devise; to scheme; as, to project a plan. What sit then projecting peace and war Milton.

Bestowal, fulfillment, or grant of what is promised. He . . . commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father. Acts i. 4.

One who promulges or publishes what was before unknown. Atterbury.

esigned to establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial. For whatsoever mother wit or art Could work, he put in proof. Spenser. You shall have many proofs to show your skill. Ford. Formerly, a very rude mode of ascertaining the strength of spirits was practiced, called the proof. Ure.…

oofs; obstinate in the wrong. "That might have shown to any one who was not proof-proof." Whateley.

Adjusted to something else according to a proportion; proportional. Longfellow. What is proportionate to his transgression. Locke.

The offer by a party of what he has in view as to an intended business transaction, which, with acceptance, constitutes a contract.

The act of setting one's self to sale, or of devoting to infamous purposes what is in one's power; as, the prostitution of abilities; the prostitution of the press. "Mental prostitution." Byron.

prolongation; continuance; delay; as, the protraction of a debate. A protraction only of what is worst in life. Mallock.

neous cosmic material of the original universe, supposed to have been differentiated into what are recognized as distinct chemical elements.

d by that; as, provided that nothing in this act shall prejudice the rights of any person whatever. Provided the deductions are logical, they seem almost indifferent to their truth. G. H. Lewes.

One who provides, furnishes, or supplies; one who procures what is wanted.

live. Milton. Can honor's voice provoke the silent dust Gray. To the poet the meaning is what he pleases to make it, what it provokes in his own soul. J. Burroughs.

One who prunes, or removes, what is superfluous.

The act of trimming, or removing what is superfluous.