as in blasphemy
an act of great disrespect shown to God or to sacred ideas, people, or things the sect has no tolerance for any irreverence directed toward their spiritual leader

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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 irreverence The film’s a strange but potent mix of irreverence and patriotism. Keith Phipps, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025 Shot through the lens of director Yorgos Lanthimos' darkly comedic irreverence, this is a (gloriously) nasty piece of work, and Colman is more than willing to get her hands dirty. Ew Staff, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2025 The film’s a strange but potent mix of irreverence and patriotism. Keith Phipps, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025 His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence, and insatiable curiosity, send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for irreverence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreverence
Noun
  • For this theme to have been chosen only after the tragic passing of pioneering fashion icon, long-time Vogue editor-at-large, and unmistakable dandy, Andre Leon Talley, is a sort of blasphemy.
    Akilah Sailers, Essence, 28 Apr. 2025
  • While Christians born into the faith are free to practice, Iran’s Shariah laws state that abandoning Islam for another religion is considered blasphemy, punishable by death.
    Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Such a transformation would represent an irrevocable loss: a profound sacrilege not only to the city’s rich history but also to the cultural legacy for the future generations.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 23 Feb. 2025
  • For many liberals and radicals, beginning with Lord Byron, Elgin was a vandal who had committed sacrilege.
    Ralph Leonard, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The firm sued, calling the order a violation of the Constitution's First Amendment protections against government abridgment of speech and Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process - a requirement for the government to use a fair legal process.
    Mike Scarcella and David Thomas, USA Today, 3 May 2025
  • Under South Korean law, anyone who receives a fine exceeding 1 million won ($683) for election law violations is barred from seeking office for five years.
    Hyung-Jin Kim, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
Noun
  • In the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson, the Court ruled that flag desecration is protected under the First Amendment.
    Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025
  • For some fans, the changes may feel like a desecration.
    Jesse Green, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • By one hand, he is bound to himself, to his impiety, his recklessness, his envy and pride, his guilt and spite.
    Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
  • By one hand, he is bound to himself, to his impiety, his recklessness, his envy and pride, his guilt and spite.
    Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • In practice, the memo explained, the reports should be scrubbed of references such as those to prison abuses, government corruption, and locking up dissidents without due process.
    Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 May 2025
  • That focus on wholesome foods, drug safety, and eliminating corruption in pharmaceuticals and the food industry has justifiably captured public enthusiasm.
    Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The order is so blatant in its attempt to rewrite history that to call it Orwellian would be something of an insult to Big Brother.
    Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Earbuds have become the pedestrian’s car stereo, a kind of acoustic Bubble Wrap shielding us from noise or chatter or insults and makes obsolete a once-fundamental New York experience: the casual interaction.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 25 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Scottish hen parties were deemed to contain ritualistic profanation.
    Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
  • No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; ’Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love.
    John Edgar Wideman, The New Yorker, 8 July 2021

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Cite this Entry

“Irreverence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreverence. Accessed 13 May. 2025.

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