sacrilege

noun

sac·​ri·​lege ˈsa-krə-lij How to pronounce sacrilege (audio)
1
: a technical and not necessarily intrinsically outrageous violation (such as improper reception of a sacrament) of what is sacred because consecrated to God
2
: gross irreverence toward a hallowed person, place, or thing

Did you know?

Why is sacrilegious not spelled sacreligious?

Sacrilegious is often used in reference to religion, or to religious things, so it is easy to see why people might be confused by its spelling. However, sacrilegious and religious are not from the same roots. Religious comes from the Latin word religio (“reverence, religion”), whereas sacrilegious and the related noun sacrilege come from Latin roots meaning “sacred” (sacr-) and “to steal” (legere).

The earliest sense of sacrilege, in use since the beginning of the 14th century, was concerned with the theft, misuse, or desecration of sacred or holy things. It still is used in this sense quite often, but has also taken on a broader meaning, in which it refers to irreverence to a person, place, or thing which may or may not have religious significance.

Examples of sacrilege in a Sentence

They accused him of committing a sacrilege. They accused him of sacrilege. an act of sacrilege against the church
Recent Examples on the Web But there has been fierce resistance along the way, particularly from some fellow surfers who think the whole idea of turning an intimate, almost zen-like communion with nature into a competition is sacrilege. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 26 July 2024 This kind of thing, sacrilege when a lot of us were growing up around here, is more common nowadays. Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 7 July 2024 Gutiérrez has also done something that some might consider a sacrilege. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2024 All this is close to sacrilege for the people of the United Kingdom, who are thought to drink about 100 million cups of the stuff every day — about 1.5 per person — but do so without many splashes of creativity. Patrick Smith, NBC News, 24 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sacrilege 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sacrilege.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin sacrilegium, from sacrilegus one who robs sacred property, from sacr-, sacer + legere to gather, steal — more at legend

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sacrilege was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near sacrilege

Cite this Entry

“Sacrilege.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sacrilege. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

sacrilege

noun
sac·​ri·​lege ˈsak-rə-lij How to pronounce sacrilege (audio)
: theft or violation of something sacred
sacrilegious adjective
sacrilegiously adverb
sacrilegiousness noun

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