In linguistics

Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....

, semantic overload is a property of terms which have more than one meaning and are used in ways that convey a meaning which draws on its divergent constituent concepts. Overloading is related to the psychological concept of information overload

Information overload

"Information overload" is a term popularized by Alvin Toffler in his bestselling 1970 book Future Shock. It refers to the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much information...

, and the computer science concept of an overloaded expression

Overloaded expression

In computer science, especially the languages Ada and C++, overloaded expression means that an ambiguous operator expression can only be understood based on the context: see overloading....

. A term that is semantically overloaded is a kind of "overloaded expression" in language that causes a certain small degree of "information overload" in the receiving audience.

Expletive

Profanity

Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...

s are notable for this quality, and conversely this quality is also a contributor to why such terms may be regarded as crude or inappropriate.