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

Without criminal consequences, operators who profit from desecrating the dead have nothing to fear. — Susana Mendoza, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026

But as building efforts have ramped up, the administration has run into opposition from landowners, environmental groups, and Native American tribes who say construction is violating property rights and desecrating sacred Indigenous sites. — Mikella Schuettler, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026

After desecrating the statue, the vandal returns the hammer to his pocket, scales the fence and flees into the night, the footage shows. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026

After desecrating a sacred hunting ground in their youth, four Blackfeet men are visited by dire consequences in adulthood. — Hannah Whitten, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026

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

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