Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Profanity for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Profanity" — noun, pronounced /prəˈfænəti/, with the stress on "fan".
Narrator: Profanity is offensive or rude language, especially swear words.
Narrator: In plain English, profanity is swearing.
Narrator: It comes from profane, from the Latin profanus, outside the temple.
Narrator: A common collocation is "a profanity filter", which describes software that hides swear words.
Narrator: It differs from "slang", because slang is informal, while profanity is offensive.
Narrator: Originally, profanity meant disrespect towards sacred things.
Narrator: Broadcasting, content moderation, gaming and law all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: profanity is offensive language.
Speaker A: Why are some songs bleeped on the radio?
Speaker B: To remove profanity! PROFANITY comes from the Latin profanus, outside the temple.
Speaker A: So it began with religion?
Speaker B: Yes, disrespecting the sacred.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "The film contains strong profanity", a warning. "Profanity is banned in the chat", a rule. "He let out a string of profanities", swearing.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Profanity can be countable for individual words: a profanity, profanities.
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Swearing is its cousin, obscenity is its twin, and cursing is the old alternative, but profanity keeps its bleeped charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "profanity" in AI prompts — useful for chat moderation and media ratings.
Speaker A: How would moderation use it?
Speaker B: Filter messages.
Prompt: Build a profanity filter that masks offensive words in chat but allows words like Scunthorpe.
Speaker A: And media ratings?
Speaker B: Classify content.
Prompt: Count instances of profanity in this script and suggest the likely age rating.
Speaker A: Could it help support?
Speaker B: Yes, calm replies.
Prompt: Write a calm reply to a customer message containing profanity, addressing their complaint.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Community rules.
Prompt: Draft a short community guideline on profanity for a gaming forum.
Profanity — meaning in Arabic & definition More P courses GL Dictionary