inner sanctum
noun
somewhat formal
: a very private room or place
The new initiate was admitted to the club's inner sanctum.
—often used figurativelythe inner sanctum of the CIA
Examples of inner sanctum in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Dressed in a traditional kurta tunic, Modi led the consecration ceremony as Hindu priests chanted hymns and a 4.25-foot statue of Lord Ram was unveiled in the temple’s inner sanctum.
—
Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 21 Jan. 2024
Some are historical — portraits of players and paeans to coaches — but the trend is for the current: limited series that promise to take viewers inside the inner sanctum, to show fans what the world inhabited by their heroes is really like.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2024
At Carbon, she is quickly swept into the inner sanctum of a very specific type of power.
—Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2024
Rabbis fashioned substitutes for holy requirements that could no longer be performed: prayers instead of animal sacrifices; arks for Torah scrolls instead of the Temple’s inner sanctum.
—Marc Tracy, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024
The 5,000-year-old monument was constructed in such a way that sunlight only enters the inner sanctum on mornings around the winter solstice.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 21 Dec. 2023
Next door is the inner sanctum, the Founders’ Room, which is for exclusive use of ZZ’s founding members.
—Melinda Sheckells, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Nov. 2023
Rizzo takes me into the laboratory’s inner sanctum, where the head tessitrici (weavers), clad in white lab coats, work the foundation’s traditional four-shaft looms.
—Sebastian Cabrices, Vogue, 14 Nov. 2023
Yet his greatest offense, in Spears’s portrayal, was misrepresenting the inner sanctum of their relationship in his music.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2023
Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 21 Jan. 2024
Some are historical — portraits of players and paeans to coaches — but the trend is for the current: limited series that promise to take viewers inside the inner sanctum, to show fans what the world inhabited by their heroes is really like.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2024
At Carbon, she is quickly swept into the inner sanctum of a very specific type of power.
—Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2024
Rabbis fashioned substitutes for holy requirements that could no longer be performed: prayers instead of animal sacrifices; arks for Torah scrolls instead of the Temple’s inner sanctum.
—Marc Tracy, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024
The 5,000-year-old monument was constructed in such a way that sunlight only enters the inner sanctum on mornings around the winter solstice.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 21 Dec. 2023
Next door is the inner sanctum, the Founders’ Room, which is for exclusive use of ZZ’s founding members.
—Melinda Sheckells, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Nov. 2023
Rizzo takes me into the laboratory’s inner sanctum, where the head tessitrici (weavers), clad in white lab coats, work the foundation’s traditional four-shaft looms.
—Sebastian Cabrices, Vogue, 14 Nov. 2023
Yet his greatest offense, in Spears’s portrayal, was misrepresenting the inner sanctum of their relationship in his music.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inner sanctum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near inner sanctum
Cite this Entry
“Inner sanctum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inner%20sanctum. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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