Of the many words in english, which are truly cuss words?

[Joe_Johnson]

i know that cussing is of course a sin, but what about less severe words like saying what the hell, or saying things like “that sucks”?

i read recently in catechism that if one is unsure if something is a sin, he must make an effort to find out, so i posted on here =)

 

[NickVA]

I believe that any willfully said cuss word is a Venial sin. Now of course its a very serious matter to use the lords name in vain, so NEVER do that.

But as for “less bad” words like “suck”, I really cant say whether or not they are sinful.

When in doubt, Just try to keep your language as clean as possible. And besides, using “substitute curse words” can become a habit that you wouldn’t want to let slip out at an inappropriate moment, say a job interview.

These words can become a crutch for anyone, try to avoid using such words if they are obscene.

 

[PatrickSebast]

St. Paul actually used a word that is almost an equivalent to our modern S-word in

Phillipians 3:8 More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ (NAB)

The word is Skubala in greek, is what is used to mean rubbish in the NAB translation, but it is more correctly known to be a vulgar term for feces. Suffice to say a word in and of itself is not a venial sin, but the context and what you are representing with your language is the true concern. Paul doesn’t use this word in any other of his writings so you know that in this case he is trying to make an especially strong point. If you “curse like a sailor” then the real problem isn’t the actual language, but what you are representing to other people with that language. Frequent cursing generally shows unhappiness and anger when as a Christian you should be striving to represent Christ with a spirit of joy and charity. On the other hand you don’t have to be a prude and disclude yourself from playing the card game “BS” with your friends because you are a Catholic.