Four-letter word words of this length are upsetting to some, for religious or personal sensitivity reasons, such as: "" (UK), "", "", "", and "" (UK). Racist, ableist, and slurs pertaining to an individual's sexual orientation may also qualify, such as "" (in the UK not a racial slur, but short for Mongol, or someone with Down syndrome - previously called Mongolism), "", "", "", "", "" and "". Several "four-letter words" have multiple meanings (some even serving as given names), and usually only offend when used in their vulgar senses, for example: "", "", "" (UK) and "" (UK). A borderline
Four-letter word Four-letter word The phrase four-letter word refers to a set of English-language words written with four letters which are considered profane, including common popular or slang terms for excretory functions, sexual activity and genitalia, terms relating to Hell or damnation when used outside of religious contexts or slurs. The "four-letter" claim refers to the fact that a large number of (but not all) English "swear words" are incidentally four-character monosyllables. This description came into use during the first half of the twentieth century. Common four-letter words (in this sense) that are widely considered vulgar or offensive to a notable degree