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Blasphemy vs Profanity vs Swearing vs Cursing

Blasphemy, profanity, swearing, cursing are comparable when meaning impious or irreverent speech.

Blasphemy, the strongest term (see also PROFANATION), applies strictly to an intentional or malicious utterance in which the Supreme Being is defied or offered indignity; as such it is regarded as a serious sin in theology and as a crime at the common law.

Profanity has a wider range and includes all irreverent reference to holy things; it is particularly applied to speech in which the names of God, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary are used lightly and irreverently, especially in expressing rage or passion in oaths, curses, and imprecations.

Swearing and cursing are forms of profanity, the former stressing indulgence in profane and often meaningless oaths; the latter, indulgence in profane curses or imprecations (as by calling on God to damn or punish the object of one’s wrath or hatred).