Both Uses of
profane
in
Anna Karenina
- A feeling such as his was profaned by talk of the rivalry of some Petersburg officer, of the suppositions and the counsels of Stepan Arkadyevitch.†
Part 1 *profaned = was disrespectful of something thought of as sacred
- But though he liked and respected the princess, Levin could not call her so without a sense of profaning his feeling for his dead mother.†
Part 6profaning = disrespecting something thought of as sacred
Definitions:
-
(1)
(profane as in: don't be profane) showing no respect for something thought of as sacred
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely profane may mean that something is not sacred or concerned with religion; or that it is not holy because it is unconsecrated, impure or defiled. As a verb it can mean to spoil something considered holy by using it in a degrading or unworthy way.