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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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 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 The Carnaby expertly mixes Ramsay’s reputation for Michelin star culinary excellence with a 1960s British Invasion rock n’ roll vibe that’s retro hip, energetic and just a bit irreverent. — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 16 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

The stock remains above the rising monthly cloud model, which defines the secular bull trend.

— Katie Stockton, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
Her choice was made possible not just by medical infrastructure, but by decades of La Presse front pages, the slow cultural work of a secular society deciding, together, this was something a person could choose.

— Sai Rajagopal, STAT, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of secular

Adjective

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
Some Muslims saw it as blasphemous, and often-violent protests erupted against Rushdie, who was born into a Muslim family.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 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

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
But the school’s dress code prohibits messages that are lewd, indecent, vulgar or profane.

— Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 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 12 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of irreverent

adjective

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