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o matters other than sacred; secular; -- opposed to sacred, religious, or inspired; as, a profane place. "Profane authors." I. Disraeli. The profane wreath was suspended before the shrine. Gibbon.

In a profane manner. The character of God profanely impeached. Dr. T. Dwight.

The quality or state of being profane; especially, the use of profane language.

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

ss of language, or violence to the person. Pick out mirth, like stones out of thy ground, Profaneness, filthiness, abusiveness. Herbert.

harge with. [Obs.] Thoughts and expressions . . . which can be truly argued of obscenity, profaneness, or immorality. Dryden.

n. Johnson. Why should . . . the holiest words, with all their venerable associations, be profaned Coleridge.

fects of; as, how can the danger be averted "To avert his ire." Milton. When atheists and profane persons do hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in religion, it doth avert them from the church. Bacon. Till ardent prayer averts the public woe. Prior.

Coarsely abusive, foul, or profane language; vituperation; ribaldry.

e constitution; esp. the rights or inheritance of the first born. Lest there be any . . . profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Heb. xii. 16.

Speaking or writing blasphemy; uttering or exhibiting anything impiously irreverent; profane; as, a blasphemous person; containing blasphemy; as, a blasphemous book; a blasphemous caricature. "Blasphemous publications." Porteus. Nor from the Holy One of Heaven Refrained his tongue blasphemous. Milton.…

To approach; to come near to; to verge. Wit which borders upon profaneness deserves to be branded as folly. Abp. Tillotson.

to, national representative assemblies, but must turn with horror and disgust from such a profane burlesque and abominable perversion of that sacred institute Burke.

Profane; polluted. [Obs.] What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. Acts x. 15.

To destroy; to make null. [Obs.] [Profane scoffing] doth . . . deface the reverence of religion. Bacon. For all his power was utterly defaste [defaced]. Spenser.

being of a divine nature; particularly, the putting to death of Jesus Christ. [R.] Earth profaned, yet blessed, with deicide. Prior.

cred character or office; to divert from a sacred purpose; to violate the sanctity of; to profane; to put to an unworthy use; -- the opposite of consecrate. The [Russian] clergy can not suffer corporal punishment without being previously desecrated. W. Tooke. The founders of monasteries imprecated evil on those who sho…

One who desecrates; a profaner. Harper's Mag.

Bringing disgrace; causing shame; shameful; dishonorable; unbecoming; as, profaneness is disgraceful to a man. -- Dis*grace"ful*fy, adv. -- Dis*grace"ful*ness, n. The Senate have cast you forth disgracefully. B. Jonson.

To make unholy; to profane. Tennyson. Nor can the unholiness of the priest dishallow the altar. T. Adams.