1. words that many people find offensive Synonym : swear words
   • ● Most of the complaints received were about bad language.
   Culture swear wordsswear wordsMany people find swearing (= using swear words) offensive and it is safest to avoid doing it. Swear words are used mainly in two situations: to relaese feelings of anger and when something bad happens, and to show your anger to somebody who has upset you. The words used often lose their normal meaning and act simply as a way of expressing feelings. Swear words are usually short and have a strong sound. Since many swear words have four letters they are sometimes called four-letter words.Like slang expressions, swear words come in and out of fashion and over time often lose their power to shock. They are replaced by new, stronger words, though the old-fashioned words may continue to be used by older people. Exclamations such as Drat!, Blow! and Blast!, for instance, are now rarely heard among young people, although the older generation still use them.Swear words are also called bad language and swear words that refer to sex or to functions of the body are called dirty words or obscene language. Other swear words have a religious origin and are sometimes called oaths. Often, obscene and religious language are combined, as in the expression Fucking hell! A person who is very angry and using a lot of swear words may be said to be cursing and swearing or effing and blinding (BrE).The most common oaths include Damn!, God!, Christ!, Jesus Christ! and For Chrissake!, which may cause offence to Christians. The strongest swear words include Fuck! and Shit! Other things people say when they are angry or annoyed are Bugger!(BrE), Dang! (NAmE) , Darn! (NAmE) and Crap! (NAmE). Swear words used to insult people include Bastard!, Bitch!, Arsehole! (BrE), Asshole! (NAmE) and, especially in the US, Son of a bitch! and Motherfucker!. Cunt! is a particularly offensive insult. Expressions with 'it' added such as in Damn it! and Fuck it! are used as alternatives to the single word. When 'off' is added, as in Fuck off! and Piss off!, the expressions take on the meaning of 'Go away!' Eff off! is used to mean 'fuck off' without actually saying the word. It is still offensive.The words frigging, chuffing (BrE) and freaking (NAmE), and the stronger fucking are used to make the meaning stronger in expressions like You're a freaking liar! and Fucking hell!. Damn, and the stronger bloody (BrE), are used before nouns, as in a damn nuisance and You bloody fool!Some people feel strongly that it is always wrong to swear and do not like to hear others swearing. The angrier the tone of voice, the more unpleasant it is likely to be. Other people swear only when a situation makes them very upset. But some people use swear words in almost every sentence. People may apologize if they use a swear word in front of somebody who does not approve of swearing, possibly by saying ' Excuse/Pardon my French'. Some people may use an ordinary word or a mild swear word in place of the stronger one they would really like to say. People may say Sugar!, for example, instead of Shit!, though this is now rather old-fashioned. Children are usually not allowed by their parents to swear, and so often find these words especially interesting.When strong swear words are spoken on television they may be bleeped out (= replaced by a short high noise) to avoid causing offence. Some words may not be used during times when children might hear them. Film classifications are based partly on the language used in them. Newspapers, books and online materials may leave out some of the letters in swear words, for example, writing fuck as f***. As a result this is sometimes known as the F-word.see also slang

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