Definition of SACROSANCT

Did You Know?

That which is sacrosanct is doubly sacred: the two Latin components underlying the word, "sacro" and "sanctus," were combined long ago to form a phrase meaning "hallowed by a sacred rite." Sacro means "by a sacred rite" and comes from "sacrum," a Latin noun that lives on in English anatomy as the name for our pelvic vertebrae-a shortening of "os sacrum," which literally means "holy bone." Sanctus means "sacred" and gave us "saint" and obvious words like "sanctimony," "sanctify," and "sanctuary."

Examples of sacrosanct in a Sentence

the government's most sacrosanct institutions The tradition is regarded as sacrosanct.

Recent Examples on the Web

The payments are considered sacrosanct and essential if Hezbollah is to sustain its effectiveness as a fighting force, drawing loyal and die-hard recruits, Hezbollah officials say. — Suzan Haidamous, The Seattle Times, "Trump’s sanctions on Iran are hitting Hezbollah hard," 18 May 2019 This is supposed to be a very sacrosanct function of the press. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Judge reveals how Navy tracked attorneys’ emails trying to find a reporter’s source," 14 June 2019 Roberts considered instruction from superiors to be sacrosanct. — Andy Mccullough, latimes.com, "How baby boomer managers reach these dang millennial players," 8 June 2019 Newspapers that once considered the front page sacrosanct now routinely run ads there. — Peter Funt, WSJ, "Who’s to Blame for Ad Clutter," 6 Jan. 2019 So far, institutions have paid about $6 billion and turned over once-sacrosanct customer information. — Laura Saunders, WSJ, "The IRS Is Still Coming for You, Offshore Tax Cheats," 14 Sep. 2018 South Korean law requires able-bodied men to serve 21 months in the military before the age of 30, a decades-old policy regarded as sacrosanct in a country still technically at war with North Korea. — Eun-young Jeong, WSJ, "South Korean Soccer Star Needs to Beat Japan or Report for Duty," 30 Aug. 2018 For the Jews who were the first members of the Jesus movement, nothing was more sacrosanct than the Sabbath, the seventh day of rest and worship. — George Weigel, WSJ, "The Easter Effect and How It Changed the World," 30 Mar. 2018 But many Saudis were still trying to process their new reality on Sunday, the first day that overturned what had been one of the most sacrosanct prohibitions in the absolute monarchy. — Margaret Coker, New York Times, "Saudi Women Can Now Drive. Overcoming Beliefs on Gender Will Be Harder.," 24 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sacrosanct.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.