as in atheistical
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
a sacrilegious, obscene joke—and told in church at that!
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Recent Examples of sacrilegious
Some fans will think supporting two different teams, let alone rivals, is sacrilegious.
—
Charlotte Harpur, The Athletic, 19 Jan. 2025
But the French debate over whether to show images of Muhammad, which many Muslims view as sacrilegious, is still being waged today.
—Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Jan. 2025
Griswold—whose father, once the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, consecrated the denomination’s first openly gay bishop—treats the pastors generously, though gingerly, constructing from their lowest moments an affecting study of sacred life in sacrilegious times.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024
The cartoon images deeply offended many Muslims, who saw them as sacrilegious.
—Tom Nouvian and Samuel Petrequin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Charlotte Harpur, The Athletic, 19 Jan. 2025
But the French debate over whether to show images of Muhammad, which many Muslims view as sacrilegious, is still being waged today.
—Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Jan. 2025
Griswold—whose father, once the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, consecrated the denomination’s first openly gay bishop—treats the pastors generously, though gingerly, constructing from their lowest moments an affecting study of sacred life in sacrilegious times.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024
The cartoon images deeply offended many Muslims, who saw them as sacrilegious.
—Tom Nouvian and Samuel Petrequin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sacrilegious
Adjective
-
Many Muslims found some of the depictions offensive and even blasphemous.—
Lola Fadulu,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
-
The piece was dubbed blasphemous by many Muslims and has been banned in Iran since 1988.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.—
Mariana Dimópulos,
Harpers Magazine,
26 Mar. 2025
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This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.—
Simone Weil,
Harper's Magazine,
2 July 2024
Adjective
-
Freewheeling in nature and with a knack for mixing eclectic cultures, Yang proposed a thoughtful collection with an irreverent edge, one consistently framed by Yang’s lineup of Asian female protagonists.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
1 Apr. 2025
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Marking Benna’s feature directorial and editorial debut, André Is an Idiot watches as André, an irreverent man, embarks on an unexpected journey after receiving a terminal diagnosis, determined to maintain his humor while learning to die happily.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In other words, despite its seeming departure from Maine’s binary logic, the Second World was really a slice of the non-West that, contrary to expectations, embraced an explicitly secular and modernizing agenda: socialism.—
Zachariah Mampilly,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Apr. 2025
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But the church’s decision to make Catholic Charities a separate corporate entity means that this entity is not exempt from the state’s unemployment law — because Catholic Charities itself only provides secular services.—
Ian Millhiser,
Vox,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This attempt to turn back the clock included the purging of Christian texts from schools, the conversion of Christian churches into pagan temples, and religious persecution as it had been practiced in centuries past.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
22 Feb. 2025
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Over time, my conquistadors retired, and my pagan temples got demolished to make way for grocery stores.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sacrilegious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sacrilegious. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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