profanes

verb

present tense third-person singular of profane
1
as in degrades
to lower in character, dignity, or quality the once-lovely landscape had been profaned by ugly factories

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abuses
to put to a bad or improper use profaned his considerable acting talents by appearing in some wretched movies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in violates
to treat (a sacred place or object) shamefully or with great disrespect invading troops profaned the altar by playing poker on it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for profanes
  1. degrades
  2. abuses
  3. violates
  4. corrupts
  5. misuses
  6. desecrates
  7. humiliates
  8. subverts
Verb
  • The team also did impedance measurements to find out how fast the protection degrades.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Because the watermark degrades with more thorough editing or in shorter samples of text, its usefulness may also be uneven depending on the department or assignment.
    — Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of degrades
Verb
  • Detectives will continue investigating these cases aggressively, and anyone who abuses their position with a child will be held accountable.
    — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • New York City’s child welfare agency routinely abuses its emergency power to take children from their parents without a court order, creating lifelong consequences for families, a new class-action lawsuit seeking to end the practice alleged Thursday.
    — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026
Definition of abuses
Verb
  • In the lawsuit Friday over Golden State Wind, California argues the deal violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which gives California input into offshore leasing decisions.
    — Blanca Begert, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • This violates right-to-delete laws, and worse, hackers can reverse-engineer those leftover AI files to steal sensitive health data.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of violates
Verb
  • Forgetting his bond with the land, Mariano awakens the Ch’iqmi, a dark force that corrupts his people.
    — Kevin Giraud, Variety, 25 June 2026
  • One nanny will try to get to the bottom of it before all the partying, power and privilege corrupts her.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 21 Apr. 2026
Definition of corrupts
Verb
  • Jungles said any officer who misuses the technology should be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
    — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • These taxes and fees aren’t high just because California misuses the funds.
    — Nolan Gray, Oc Register, 21 June 2026
Definition of misuses
Verb
  • His name no longer desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people.
    — Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR, 8 July 2026
  • Nothing beats cuteness except watching violence be enacted upon the cuteness; like an aural Happy Tree Friends, Skulls tosses pom-poms of fuzz into the sky then desecrates them.
    — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 17 Dec. 2025
Definition of desecrates
Verb
  • Filming a scene in which Isaiah humiliates Cam, Withers asked Wayans to crack jokes about Kionte’s death — the defining event of Withers’ life, and his lowest point.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Diomande just humiliates fullbacks.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 12 June 2026
Definition of humiliates
Verb
  • Psycho playfully subverts expectations and rejects structural norms to deliver one of the most surprising thrillers ever committed to film.
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Seen through the lens of the Civil War and its aftermath, the piece subverts every expectation.
    — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Definition of subverts
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

profaned
profanes
profaning
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Profanes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profanes. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All