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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Recent Examples of irreverence
Those brave enough to confront the world’s irreverence with a stubborn, civil audacity.
—
F. Willis Johnson, Twin Cities, 10 July 2025
A lot of welcome Hotel Art Thief motifs recur here — an amazing old guy, a fake podcast recording session, POV gun violence (thanks to a cop body cam), and a plotline pulling all the irreverence together — subtly seeded throughout the series and ultimately leading to violence.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 26 June 2025
That was a key part of the marketing campaign: the irreverence of Stitch disrupting myriad cultural moments ala the Super Bowl.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 26 June 2025
The fragrance’s starting point was the consumer — especially Gen Zers, who are partial to a deep form of insouciance, with a liberating irreverence, market insights show.
—Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for irreverence
F. Willis Johnson, Twin Cities, 10 July 2025
A lot of welcome Hotel Art Thief motifs recur here — an amazing old guy, a fake podcast recording session, POV gun violence (thanks to a cop body cam), and a plotline pulling all the irreverence together — subtly seeded throughout the series and ultimately leading to violence.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 26 June 2025
That was a key part of the marketing campaign: the irreverence of Stitch disrupting myriad cultural moments ala the Super Bowl.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 26 June 2025
The fragrance’s starting point was the consumer — especially Gen Zers, who are partial to a deep form of insouciance, with a liberating irreverence, market insights show.
—Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for irreverence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreverence
Noun
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Many societies in the past have linked swearing to blasphemy or sin.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The organization has also taken on international cases involving silent prayer arrests in the U.K. and blasphemy charges in Nigeria.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
31 July 2025
Noun
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For years, Apple treated the idea of windows on the iPad as sacrilege.—
Craig Grannell,
Wired News,
16 Aug. 2025
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And still, Wankdorf Stadium heaved with Portuguese song, as if any other noise outside of a goal celebration might border on sacrilege.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
4 July 2025
Noun
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The violation is the eleventh recorded since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, according to Defense Ministry figures provided to ABC News.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
15 Sep. 2025
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From spoiled chicken to dead cockroaches, health inspectors in Missouri and Kansas found numerous violations at Kansas City area restaurants last week.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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His wife Sherrie Parker, 41, and their son, Deshawn Thomas, 22, are charged with desecration of human remains and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, according to officials.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
11 Sep. 2025
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The desecration of pizza seems to have no limits.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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Clouzot supplied that insight in strong visual terms: Fresnay’s conflicting impiety and righteous anger and so much dissatisfaction and panic among the townsfolk.—
Armond White,
National Review,
20 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Hawthorne was in the guest bathroom when Vaughan came at him with his fist raised and cursing and yelling at him, Rutherford said.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Leading up to the protests, the hashtag #NepoBaby had been trending in the country, largely to criticize the extravagant lifestyles of local politicians' children and call out corruption, NPR previously reported.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
10 Sep. 2025
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Apart from lifting the ban on social media, the protesters’ other demands included that the Prime Minister resign and that Nepal establish an independent watchdog body similar to an ombudsman to monitor corruption.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Young Thug wasn’t the only target, however, as his girlfriend, Mariah The Scientist, also caught a few shots for entertaining Thugger’s insults over the phone.—
Jessica Bennett,
VIBE.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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Bluesky, part of the decentralized internet, is slower paced and caters to niche interests, rewarding internecine fights over minutiae, whereas X is deliberately chaotic, encouraging the gathering of follower-armies and ideological insult-comedy for an audience that may be largely made up of bots.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irreverence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreverence. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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