IRREVERENT Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

irreverent

adjective

i-ˈre-v(ə-)rənt

Definition of irreverent

as in atheistic

not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred irreverent behavior during church services

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of irreverent These anti-fascist singalongs slot into a more playful and irreverent tradition, one more in line with the snotty pop-punk and ska bands who railed against GOP war-mongering in the early 2000s. — Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 3 Aug. 2026 The novel was adapted for a 1979 film but is now getting new life on Netflix with a cast of young talent and an irreverent bend to the writing. — Madeleine Janz, PEOPLE, 1 Aug. 2026 Other protest signs echo the irreverent tone of social media, with memes and pop culture references woven into the demonstrations. — ABC News, 25 July 2026 The messages were casual, sly, a little irreverent—proof that Google wasn’t like any other company—while always amplifying the corporate mythology. — Claire Stapleton, New Yorker, 18 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for irreverent

Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreverent

Adjective

His father's death during World War II influenced his pursuit of the ministry even amid the officially atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union, according to his obituary on the OCU website.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
But there has been a recent rise in secular congregations that explicitly mimic religious organizations and rituals to celebrate atheistic worldviews.

— Jacqui Frost, The Conversation, 11 Jan. 2024

Definition of atheistic

Adjective

Campbell explained that Democrats have a larger number of secular voters -- people who are not religious, which is a growing segment of the population and within the Democratic Party.

— Hannah Demissie, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
The stock remains above the rising monthly cloud model, which defines the secular bull trend.

— Katie Stockton, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of secular

Adjective

But when The Satanic Verses was published in 1988, the novel was declared by some as blasphemous, and then-Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa for Rushdie to be assassinated, leading the author to go into hiding until 1998.

— Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran's supreme leader, denounced the book as blasphemous, leading to a call for Rushdie's death in 1989, according to the Department of Justice.

— Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 30 July 2026

Definition of blasphemous

Adjective

He may have been born in Cordoba, northern Argentina, but after five years at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the notion of Romero being allowed to head the four miles south to the Emirates feels extremely problematic at best, sacrilegious at worst.

— Tim Spiers, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026
Because xenia rested on mutual trust, violating it was considered not just rude but sacrilegious.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 19 July 2026

Definition of sacrilegious

Adjective

Many other traditionalists have made a version of Scruton’s critique, insisting that contemporary art reflects self-indulgent, relativistic, and impious tendencies.

— Luis Parrales, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
While no formal announcement has been made to update its longstanding alcohol ban, Andrew Leber of Tulane University said this is in line with the Kingdom’s past approach to such potentially impious reforms.

— Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025

Definition of impious

Adjective

The Tarrant County decorum policy prohibits personal attacks and impertinent, profane, obscene or slanderous remarks.

— Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Aug. 2026
For this reason, Serrano’s work, with its uncannily beatific admixture of the sacred and the profane, recovers something of the original impact of Paul’s scandalous proclamation.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of profane

Adjective

There’s more than a tinge of folk horror to this lingering mystery, which brings to mind the 1973 genre landmark The Wicker Man, in which a puritanical police officer travels to a remote island community that’s reverted to old pagan ways.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 15 June 2026
Glenn Turner, the former owner of a pagan and metaphysical shop, is running as a member of the Green Party.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026

Definition of pagan

Browse Nearby Words

irreverences

irreverent

irreversible

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“Irreverent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreverent. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of irreverent

adjective

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