Synonyms of desecrating

desecrating 1 of 3

adjective

as in blasphemous

Related Words

• blasphemous
• sacrilegious
• profane
• irreverent
• discourteous
• disrespectful
• profanatory
• insolent
• uncivil
• rude
• undutiful

Dissimilar Words

• reverent
• holy
• religious
• pious
• devout
• saintly
• reverential
• worshipful
• godly
• spiritual
• ascetic
• sainted
• prayerful

desecrating

2 of 3

noun

as in desecration

Related Words

• desecration
• wrecking
• destruction
• demolishing
• ravaging
• ravage
• ruination
• trashing
• vandalism
• defacement
• defacing
• ruin
• demolishment
• sabotage
• vandalization
• despoiling
• plundering
• looting
• pillaging
• pillage
• marauding
• plunder
• depredation
• spoliation
• predation
• ransacking
• sacking
• despoilment

Dissimilar Words

• protection
• saving
• preservation
• conservation
• salvage

desecrating

3 of 3

verb

present participle of desecrate

as in violating

to treat (a sacred place or object) shamefully or with great disrespect

vandals desecrated the cemetery last night by covering the tombstones with graffiti

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violating
• defiling
• destroying
• profaning
• demolishing
• ravaging
• ruining
• raiding
• insulting
• robbing
• blaspheming
• polluting
• contaminating
• sullying
• tainting
• wrecking
• cursing
• plundering
• defaming
• soiling
• offending
• swearing
• affronting
• despoiling
• decimating
• sacking
• stripping
• poisoning
• devastating
• razing
• outraging
• looting
• desacralizing
• pillaging
• wasting
• desanctifying
• befouling
• deconsecrating
• annihilating
• fouling
• ransacking
• spoiling
• crushing
• desolating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• respecting
• dedicating
• honoring
• sanctifying
• blessing
• consecrating
• hallowing
• purging
• purifying
• cleansing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of desecrating

Verb

The penalty is identical to that for desecrating the flag or other national emblem of a foreign state, which was already in place. — News Desk, Artforum, 17 July 2026

One is about civic commonality, the other about authoritarian cynicism; one is about a city pulling together around a common pleasure, the other about desecrating the decorum of democracy. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 June 2026

The case intensifies international scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of religious minorities, following recent incidents of soldiers desecrating Christian religious symbols in Lebanon. — Melanie Lidman, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026

This week’s discovery of the antisemitic graffiti follows the arrest of two teenage vandals for desecrating a Brooklyn playground in a Jewish neighborhood with more than 50 swastikas in January. — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 6 May 2026

And a coke-snorting, heirloom-desecrating, funeral-crashing adversary at that. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2026

With the help of that tiny clipping of moss, the defendants were eventually convicted of desecrating human remains in 2015. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2026

Gonzales-Rosales was charged with killing and desecrating a woman, his neighbor, on Easter in 2023. — Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 6 Nov. 2025