different between profane vs nefarious

English

Etymology

From Middle French prophane, from Latin prof?nus (“not religious, unclean”), from pro- (“before”) + f?num (“temple”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p???fe?n/
• Rhymes: -e?n

Adjective

profane (comparative profaner or more profane, superlative profanest or most profane)

1. Unclean; ritually impure; unholy, desecrating a holy place or thing.
   • 1614, Walter Raleigh, The History of the World

     Nothing is profane that serveth to the use of holy things.

2. Not sacred or holy, unconsecrated; relating to non-religious matters, secular.
   • 1781, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 2

     A sonnet in praise of Rome was accepted as the effusion of genius and gratitude; and after the whole procession had visited the Vatican, the profane wreath was suspended before the shrine.

3. Treating sacred things with contempt, disrespect, irreverence, or scorn; blasphemous, impious.
4. Irreverent in language; taking the name of God in vain

   a profane person, word, oath, or tongue

Synonyms

• (obscene): vulgar, inappropriate, obscene, debased, uncouth, offensive, ignoble, mean, lewd
• secular
• temporal
• worldly
• unsanctified
• unhallowed
• unholy
• irreligious
• irreverent
• ungodly
• wicked
• godless
• impious

Antonyms

• holy
• sacred

Translations

Noun

profane (plural profanes)

1. A person or thing that is profane.
   • 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society 1985, p. 244:

     The nuns were employed in religious duties established in honour of St Clare, and to which no profane was ever admitted.

2. (freemasonry) A person not a Mason.

Verb

profane (third-person singular simple present profanes, present participle profaning, simple past and past participle profaned)

1. (transitive) To violate (something sacred); to treat with abuse, irreverence, obloquy, or contempt; to desecrate
2. (transitive) To put to a wrong or unworthy use; to debase; to abuse; to defile.

Synonyms

• (violate something sacred): defile, unhallow; see also Thesaurus:desecrate
• (put to a wrong or unworthy use): abase, adulterate, degrade, demean, misapply, misuse, pervert

Antonyms

• (violate something sacred): consecrate, sanctify; see also Thesaurus:consecrate

Translations

Related terms

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin prof?nus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??.fan/

Adjective

profane (plural profanes)

1. secular; lay

   Synonyms: laïque, séculier

   Antonym: sacré

2. profane

Related terms

Further reading

• “profane” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Italian

Adjective

profane f pl

1. feminine plural of profano

Noun

profane f

1. plural of profana

Latin

Adjective

prof?ne

1. vocative masculine singular of prof?nus

References

• profane in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• profane in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Portuguese

Verb

profane

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of profanar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of profanar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of profanar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of profanar

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?o?fane/, [p?o?fa.ne]

Verb

profane

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of profanar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of profanar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of profanar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of profanar.

English

Etymology

From Latin nef?rius (“execrable, abominable”), from nef?s (“something contrary to divine law, an impious deed, sin, crime”), from ne- (“not”) + f?s (“the dictates of religion, divine law”), which is related to Latin for (“I speak, I say”) and cognate to Ancient Greek ???? (ph?mí, “I say”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n??f???i.?s/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /n??f????.?s/
• Rhymes: -??ri?s

Adjective

nefarious (comparative more nefarious, superlative most nefarious)

1. Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.

   Synonyms: evil, iniquitous, sinister, underhanded, vile, good-for-nothing; see also Thesaurus:evil

   • 1828, James Fenimore Cooper, The Red Rover, ch. 2:

     "If the vessel be no fair-trading slaver, nor a common cruiser of his Majesty, it is as tangible as the best man's reasoning, that she may be neither more nor less than the ship of that nefarious pirate the Red Rover."

   • 1877, Anthony Trollope, The Life of Cicero, ch. 9:

     Mommsen . . . declares that Catiline in particular was "one of the most nefarious men in that nefarious age. His villanies belong to the criminal records, not to history."

   • 1921, P. G. Wodehouse, The Indiscretions of Archie, ch. 26:

     The fact that the room was still in darkness made it obvious that something nefarious was afoot. Plainly there was dirty work in preparation at the cross-roads.

   • 2009 Oct. 14, Monica Davey, "Fact Checker Finds Falsehoods in Remarks," New York Times (retrieved 12 May 2014):

     “I try to let everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington.”

   Aliens have a nefarious connotation in many science fiction books.

Usage notes

• Commonly used in contexts involving villainous plans, conspiracies, or actions, as in:

• 1909, Bram Stoker, The Lady of the Shroud, book 7:

The whole nefarious scheme was one of the "put-up jobs" which are part of the dirty work of a certain order of statecraft.

Derived terms

• nefariously
• nefariousness

Translations

References

• nefarious at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• isofurane