DESECRATION Synonyms: 26 Similar and Opposite Words

desecration

noun

ˌde-si-ˈkrā-shən

Definition of desecration

as in violation

an act of great disrespect shown to God or to sacred ideas, people, or things the communicants were aghast at the desecration of the altar

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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 desecration When Debbie, Susan, and Thom come over for a double-date pizza night, only Bret is concerned about the spate of recent home invasions, the missing pets, and the desecration of the griffin mascot. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2026 Makoto, who has deployed the hinomaru in works commenting on Japan’s society and history, took issue with the idea that desecration of the flag is unpatriotic. — News Desk, Artforum, 17 July 2026 The Tesla’s desecration follows a vandalism spree in Queens that saw religious centers, homes and vehicles defiled with swastikas and antisemitic slogans last month. — Barry Williams, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026 However, the Supreme Court in several cases has struck down any improper use or desecration of the flag on the grounds of free speech, according to the Library of Congress’ most frequently asked questions about flag law. — Darleene Powells, Boston Herald, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for desecration

Recent Examples of Synonyms for desecration

Noun

Operators could now face fines of up to $50,000 per violation.

— Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
The law firm's report released Thursday said Caldwell committed several violations of state policy.

— MIKE CATALINI, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of violation

Noun

Or a plot to divert attention from Murphy’s blasphemy of her famously lucky number 13?

— Isabella Albaig, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
That might have sounded like blasphemy just half a decade ago, but college football is always evolving, and Swinney is a man stuck in time.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of blasphemy

Noun

While this might seem like capitalist sacrilege, Gearin says there’s historical precedent for Indigenous peoples using plant medicine as a tool to navigate the practical demands of the world.

— Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026
To refer to the Manhattanite rock quintet as third best in any context feels like music sacrilege.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of sacrilege

Noun

East of Eden is a tome obsessed with guilt, sin, ambition, race, the land as healing and capitalism as putrefying, the nature of fate and the question of free will, and the role money and inheritance play in either our corruption or our cleansing.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Brown, who served as the union’s chief of staff and as special assistant to ex-International President Newton Jones, is the first of eight former Boilermakers to be sentenced in the federal corruption case.

— Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of corruption

Noun

Paxton had argued that the law-school clinic was not a classroom but a workplace, and that Fisher was punished not for expressing political views but because her cursing and volume had disrupted clinic business.

— Benjamin Wofford, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
The cursing is definitely a big part of being that age, and especially misplaced cursing is funny — kids who don’t exactly know how to curse correctly.

— Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of cursing

Noun

Frazier was a Black sharecropper’s son who’d overcome much hardship, and the insults stung.

— Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
That kind of insult to excellence can't happen in college football, since every Saturday matters and losing just a couple of games, even early in the season and to good teams by narrow margins, can end your hopes (see Notre Dame last season).

— Bradley Gitz, Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of insult

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desecrating

desecration

desecrations

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“Desecration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desecration. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of desecration

noun

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