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Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such as anger, excitement, or surprise), as a grammatical intensifier or emphasis, or to express informality or conversational intimacy. In many formal or polite social situations, it is considered impolite (a violation of ), and in some religious groups it is considered a sin. Profanity includes pejorative, but most profanities are not slurs, and there are many insults that do not use swear words.
Swear words can be discussed or even sometimes used for the same purpose without causing offense or being considered impolite if they are obscured (e.g. "fuck" becomes "f***" or "the f-word") or substituted with a minced oath like "flip".
English uses cursing in a similar manner to swearing, especially in the United States. Cursing originally referred specifically to the use of language to cast a curse on someone, and in American English it is still commonly associated with wishing harm on another. Equivalents to cursing are used similarly in Danish (bande), Italian (imprecare), and Norwegian (banne). The terms swearing and cursing have strong associations with the use of profanity in anger. Various efforts have been made to classify different types of profanity, but there is no widely accepted typology and terms are used interchangeably.
Blasphemy and obscenity are used similarly to profanity, though blasphemy has retained its religious connotation. Expletive is another English term for the use of profanity, derived from its original meaning of adding words to change a sentence's length without changing its meaning. The use of expletive sometimes refers specifically to profanity as an interjection. Epithet is used to describe profanities directed at a specific person. Some languages do not have a general term for the use of profanities, instead describing it with the phrase "using bad language". These include Mandarin (zang hua), Portuguese (palavrão), Spanish (decir palabrotas), and Turkish (küfur etmek). Colloquial English terms include potty-mouth, defined by the OED as "A tendency to be foul-mouthed; (also) a foul-mouthed person".
In modern European languages, swearing developed from early Christianity, primarily through restrictions on taking God's name in vain in the Old Testament. Invocations of God were seen as attempts to call upon his power, willing something to be true or leveling a curse. Other mentions of God were seen as placing oneself over him, with the person uttering a name implying power over the name's owner.
Modern study of profanity as its own subject of inquiry had started by 1901. Sigmund Freud influenced study of the topic by positing that swearing reflects the subconscious, including feelings of aggression, antisocial inclinations, and the broaching of taboos. Significant activity began in the 1960s with writings on the subject by Ashley Montagu and Edward Sagarin, followed by increased study the following decade. Specific types of discriminatory profanity, such as ethnophaulism and homophobia, came to be described as part of a broader type of profanity, hate speech, toward the end of the 20th century. Another increase in the study of profanity took place with the onset of the 21st century.
Literal meanings in modern profanity typically relate to religion, sex, or the human body, which creates a dichotomy between the use of highbrow religious swears and lowbrow anatomical swears. Languages and cultures place different emphasis on the subjects of profanity. Anatomical profanity is common in Polish, for example, while swearing in Dutch is more commonly in reference to disease. Words for excrement and for the buttocks have profane variants across most cultures. Though religious swears were historically more severe, modern society across much of the world has come to see sexual and anatomical swears to be more vulgar. Common profane phrases sometimes incorporate more than one category of profanity for increased effect. The Spanish phrase me cago en Dios y en la Puta Virgen () invokes scatological, religious, and sexual profanity. Other swear words do not refer to any subject, such as the English word bloody when used in its profane sense.
Not all taboo words are used in swearing, with many only being used in a literal sense. Clinical or academic terminology for bodily functions and sexual activity are distinct from profanity. This includes words such as excrement and copulate in English, which are not typically invoked as swears. Academics who study profanity disagree on whether literal use of a vulgar word can constitute a swear word. Conversely, words with greater connotative senses are not always used profanely. Bastard and son of a bitch are more readily used as general terms of abuse in English compared to terrorist and rapist, despite the latter two being terms being associated with strongly immoral behavior.
Some profane phrases are used metaphorically in a way that still retains elements of the original meaning, such as the English phrases all hell broke loose or shit happens, which carry the negative associations of hell and shit as undesirable places and things. Others are nonsensical when interpreted literally, like take a flying fuck in English as well as putain de merde ( whore of shit) in French and porca Madonna ( the sow of Madonna) in Italian.
Religions commonly develop derogatory words for those who are not among their members. Medieval Christianity developed terms like heathen and infidel to describe outsiders. Secularization in the Western world has seen exclamations such as God! divorced from their religious connotations. Religious profanity is not inherent to all languages, being absent from Japanese, indigenous languages of the Americas, and most Polynesian languages.
European languages historically used the crucifixion of Jesus as a focal point for profane interjections. Phrases meaning "death of God" were used in languages like English ( 'Sdeath), French (Mort de Dieu), and Swedish (Guds död) Christian profanity encompasses both appeals to the divine, such as God or heaven, and to the diabolic, such as the Devil or hell. While the impact of religious swearing has declined in the Christian world, diabolic swearing remains profane in Germany and the Nordic countries. Islamic profanity lacks a diabolic element, referring only to divine concepts like Muhammad or holy places.
Words related to Catholicism, known as sacres, are used in Quebec French profanity, and are considered to be stronger than other profane words in French. Examples of sacres considered profane in Quebec are tabarnak (tabernacle), hostie (host), and sacrament (sacrament). When used as profanities, sacres are often interchangeable.
The Book of Leviticus indicates that blasphemous language warrants death, while the Gospel of Matthew implies condemnation of all swearing, though only the Quakers have imposed such a ban. Islam, Judaism, and Brahmanism forbid mention of God's name entirely. In some countries, profanity words often have pagan roots that after Christian influence were turned from names of deities and spirits to profanity and used as such, like perkele in Finnish, which was believed to be an original name of the thunder god Ukko, the chief god of the Finnish paganism pantheon. (1976). 9789519019161, Suomalais-ugrilainen seura. ISBN 9789519019161
Profanities for the penis and vulva are often used as interjections. Penile interjections are often used in Italian (cazzo), Russian (хуй, khuy), and Spanish (carajo). Vulvar interjections are often used in Dutch (kut), Hungarian (pisca), Russian (пизда, pizda), Spanish (coño), and Swedish (fitta). Such terms, especially those relating to the vulva, may also be used as terms of abuse. Profanities related to testicles are less common and their function varies across languages. They may be used as interjections, such as in English ( balls or bollocks), Italian (coglione), and Spanish (cojones). Danish uses testicles as a term of abuse with klotzaak.
Words for the buttocks are used as a term of disapproval in many languages, including English ( ass or arse), French (cul), Polish (dupa), Russian (жопа, zhopa), and Spanish (culo). Similar words for the anus appear in languages like Danish (røvhul), English ( asshole or arsehole), German (Arschloch), Icelandic (rassgat), Norwegian (rasshøl), and Polish (dupek). Excrement and related concepts are commonly invoked in profanity. European examples include shit in English, merde in French, Scheiße in German, and stronzo in Italian. An example in an East Asian language would be クソ ( kuso) in Japanese.
Profane phrases directed at the listener's mother exist across numerous major languages, though it is absent from Germanic languages with the exception of English. These phrases often include terms of abuse that implicate the subject's mother, such as son of a bitch in English or wáng bā dàn () in Mandarin. Russian profanity places heavy emphasis on the sexual conduct of the listener's female relatives, either by describing sexual activity involving them or suggesting that the listener engage in activities with them. Aboriginal Australian languages sometimes invoke one's deceased ancestors in profanity.
The names of political ideologies are sometimes invoked as swear words by their opponents. Fascist is commonly used as an epithet in the modern era, replacing historical use of Radical politics. Far-left groups and anti-capitalist have historically used words like capitalist and imperialist as terms of abuse, while anti-communist speakers use communist in Red-baiting. The use of political terms in a profane sense often leads to the term becoming less impactful or losing relevance as a political descriptor entirely.
Words for animals can be used as terms of abuse despite not being inherently profane, commonly referencing some attribute of the animal. Examples in English include bitch to demean a woman or louse to describe someone unwanted. They may also be used in interjections like the Italian porco dio (). Animal-related profanity is distinct from other forms in that it is used similarly across different languages. Terms for dogs are among the most common animal swears across languages, alongside those for cows, donkeys, and pigs. Swear words related to monkeys are common in Arabic and East Asian cultures.
Pejorative are words that target a specific demographic. These are used to project xenophobia and prejudice, often through the use of . They typically develop in times of increased contact of conflict between different races or ethnic groups, including times of war between two or more nations. Terms for minority groups are sometimes used as swears. This can apply to both profane terms such as kike or non-profane terms such as gay. Many of these are culture-specific. In a case of using the name of one group to demean another, Hun came to be associated with a brutish caricature of Germans, first during the Renaissance and again during World War I. Some terms for people of low class or status can become generically profane or derogatory. English examples include villain, lewd, and scum.
Propositional or controlled swearing is done consciously, and speakers choose their wording and how to express it. This is more common when using descriptive swearing. Non-propositional or reflexive swearing is done involuntarily as an emotional response to excitement or displeasure. Frequent swearing can become a habit, even if the speaker does not have a specific intention of being profane.
Profanity is often used as a slot filler, which functions as a modifier, and modifying a noun with a swear is commonly used to indicate dislike. A profane word can modify words as an adjective, such as in it's a bloody miracle, or as an adverb, such as in they drove damn fast. One type of adverbial profanity is to use it as a modal adverb, such as in no you fucking can't. Compound words can be created to create a new modifier, such as pisspoor. Many European languages use profanity to add emphasis to question words in the form of who the hell are you? or with a preposition in the form of what in God's name is that?. Modifier profanities are frequently used as an expletive attributive, or that put emphasis on specific ideas. These commonly take the form of interjections to express strong emotion, such as the English examples bloody hell and for fuck's sake. Such stand-alone profanities are among the most common in natural speech. Expletive infixation is the use of a profane word as an intensifier inside of another word, such as modifying absolutely to become abso-fucking-lutely. Some languages use swear words that can generically replace nouns and verbs. This is most common in Russian.
Though profanity exists in nearly all cultures, there is variation in when it is used and how it affects the meaning of speech. Each language has unique profane phrases influenced by culture. Japanese is sometimes described as having no swear words, though it has a concept of warui kotoba () that are not based on taboos but are otherwise functionally equivalent to swears. One linguistic theory proposes that sound symbolism influences the pronunciation of profanities. This includes the suggestion that profanities are more likely to include , but this remains unstudied, especially outside of Indo-European languages.
The use of profanity is the most common way to express taboo ideas. The dichotomy between its taboo nature and its prevalence in day-to-day life is studied as the "swearing paradox". It is used casually in some social settings, which can facilitate bonding and camaraderie, denote a social environment as informal, and mark the speaker as part of an in-group. The way speakers use profanity in social settings allows them to project their identity and personality through communication style, and in some circumstances it can be used as a method used to impress one's peers. Stylistic swearing is used to add emphasis or intensity to speech, which can be used to emphasize an idea in an aggressive or authoritative fashion, make an idea memorable, or produce a comedic effect. Profanity often presents as formulaic language, in which specific words can only be used in specific phrases, often developed through grammaticalization. Many of these phrases allow words to be swapped, presenting variations on a phrase like what in the bloody heck, why in the flamin' hell, and how in the fuckin' hell. Profane phrases can be used as anaphoric pronouns, such as replacing him with the bastard in tell the bastard to mind his own business. They can similarly be used to support a noun instead of replacing it, such as in John is a boring son of a bitch. Though profanity is usually associated with taboo words, obscene non-verbal acts such as may be considered profane. Spitting in someone's direction has historically been seen as a strong insult. Exposure of certain body parts, often the genitals or buttocks, is also seen as profane in many parts of the world.
Though cursing often refers to the use of profanity in general, it can refer to more specific phrases of harm such as damn you or a pox on you. Historically, people swore by or to the ideas that they were invoking, instead of swearing at something. Oaths in which the speaker swears by something, such as by God, can be used as interjections or intensifiers, typically without religious connotation. This is especially common in Arabic. Self-immolating oaths, such as I'll be damned, involve speakers casting harm upon themselves. These are often invoked as conditional statements based on whether something is true— I'll be damned if... Profanity directed at an individual can take the form of an unfriendly suggestion. English examples include go to hell and kiss my ass. Some profanities, such as your mother!, imply taboos or swear words without using them explicitly.
The identity of the speaker affects how profanity is seen, as different cultures may hold classes, sexes, age groups, and other identities to different standards. Profanity is often seen as more socially acceptable when coming from men, and it is commonly associated with machismo. Profanity varies in how it affects a speaker's credibility. It can be seen as unprofessional in some circumstances, but it can make an argument more persuasive in others. Milder words can become more impactful in different circumstances; cheat may be more provocative in schools or gambling clubs, and informer replaces crook as a term of abuse for a dishonest person in a criminal setting. Profanity is often associated with lower class professions like soldiers and .
Expectancy violations theory holds that expectations about a speaker's behavior come from impressions based not only on the speaker's identity, but how the specific speaker typically communicates and the socially expected way to speak to a given listener. Swearing in formal contexts is a greater violation of expectations than swearing in informal conversation. Whether the profanity is spoken in public or private is also a factor in social acceptability. Conversations that involve profanity are correlated with other informal manners of speech, such as slang, humor, and discussion of sexuality.
Native speakers of a language can intuitively decide what language is appropriate for a given context. Those still learning a language, such as children and non-native speakers, are more likely to use profane language without realizing that it is profane. Acceptable environments for profanity are learned in childhood as children find themselves chastised for swearing in some places more than others. Swearing is often milder among young children, and they place more stigma on terms that are not seen as profane by adults, like fart or dork. Young children are more likely to use the mildest terms as swear words, such as pooh-pooh. Adolescents develop an understanding of in terms like balls.
The severity of a swear word may decline over time as it is repeated. In some cases, slurs can be Reappropriation by the targeted group when they are used ironically or in a positive context, such as queer to refer to the LGBTQ community. People who speak multiple languages often have stronger emotional associations with profanity in their native languages over that of languages that they acquire later. The severity of a profane term can vary between within the same language. Publishers of dictionaries must take profanity into consideration when deciding what words to include, especially when they are subject to obscenity laws. They may be wary of appearing to endorse the use of profane language by its inclusion. Slang dictionary have historically been used to cover profanity in lieu of more formal dictionaries.
In some cultures, there are situations where profanity is good etiquette. A tradition exists in some parts of China that a bride was expected to speak profanely to her groom's family in the days before the wedding, and one Aboriginal Australian culture uses profanity to denote class.
Profanity may be avoided when discussing taboo subjects through . Euphemisms were historically used to avoid invoking the names of malevolent beings. Euphemisms are commonly expressed as metaphors, such as make love or sleep with as descriptors of sexual intercourse. Euphemisms can be alternate descriptors such as white meat instead of breast meat, or they may be generic terms such as unmentionables. are euphemisms that modify swear words until they are no longer profane, such as darn instead of damn in English.
Substitution is another form of euphemism, with English examples including the replacement of fuck with the f-word or effing and the use of "" to refer to profanity in general. Chinese and some Southeast Asian languages use and sound-alikes to create alternate swear words. The Chinese word for bird, niao, rhymes with the Chinese word for penis and is frequently invoked as a swear. The Cockney dialect of English uses rhyming slang to alter terms, including profanity; titty is rhymed as Bristol city, which is then abbreviated as bristols.
Speakers and authors may engage in self-censorship under legal or social pressure. In the 21st century, censorship through social pressure is associated with political correctness in Western society. This has led to the intentional creation of new euphemisms to avoid terms that may be stigmatizing. Some become widely accepted, such as substance abuse for drug addiction, while others are ignored or derided, such as differently abled for disabled.
Profanity requires more mental processing than other forms of language, and the use of profanity is easier to remember when recalling a conversation or other speech. Exposure to profanity leads to higher levels of arousal, and it can cause increases in heart rate and electrodermal activity as part of a fight-or-flight response. Swearing has also been shown to increase pain tolerance, especially among people who do not regularly swear.
Compulsive swearing is called coprolalia, and it is associated with neurological conditions such as Tourette syndrome, dementia, and epilepsy. The ability to use profanity can remain intact even when neurological trauma causes aphasia. Frequent swearing is more common among people with damage to the brain or other parts of the nervous system. Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex can negatively affect one's ability to control their use of profanity and other socially inappropriate behaviors. Damage to Broca's area and other language-processing regions of the brain can similarly make people prone to outbursts. Damage to the right hemisphere limits the ability to understand and regulate the emotional content of one's speech.
In January 2016, a Mumbai-based communications agency initiated a campaign against profanity and abusive language called "Gaali free India" ( is the Hindi word for profanity). Using creative ads, it called upon people to use swatch (clean) language on the lines of Swachh Bharat Mission for nationwide cleanliness. It further influenced other news media outlets who further raised the issue of abusive language in the society especially incest abuses against women, such as "mother fucker".
In an increasing market for OTT content, several Indian web series have been using profanity and expletives to gain attention of the audiences.
In 2006, The Guardian reported that "36% of the 308 UK senior managers and directors having responded to a survey accepted swearing as part of workplace culture", but warned about specific inappropriate uses of swearing such as when it is discriminatory or part of bullying behaviour. The article ended with a quotation from Ben Wilmott (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development): "Employers can ensure professional language in the workplace by having a well-drafted policy on bullying and harassment that emphasises how bad language has potential to amount to harassment or bullying."
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