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
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Recent Examples of irreverence
That balance between rigor and irreverence shapes everything from tasting room design to membership programs.
—
Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 19 Feb. 2026
The celebrity game does keep score, but its audience is more concerned with overall flow and irreverence.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
Cort played Harold Chasen, a morbid 20-year-old obsessed with staging elaborate fake suicides, opposite Ruth Gordon as Maude, a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor who embraces life with irreverence and joy.
—Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Feb. 2026
That irreverence is something Lighton sensed from their first conversation.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for irreverence
Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 19 Feb. 2026
The celebrity game does keep score, but its audience is more concerned with overall flow and irreverence.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
Cort played Harold Chasen, a morbid 20-year-old obsessed with staging elaborate fake suicides, opposite Ruth Gordon as Maude, a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor who embraces life with irreverence and joy.
—Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Feb. 2026
That irreverence is something Lighton sensed from their first conversation.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for irreverence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreverence
Noun
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Another young man, Mashal Khan, a university student and poet, was lynched by a mob of fellow students who accused him of blasphemy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
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As depicted in the movie, Lee was arrested multiple times for blasphemy and disturbing the peace.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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At many Jewish institutions, rejecting Zionism is indeed regarded as a form of sacrilege.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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That’s the ultimate Hollywood sacrilege.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Magyar may be charged with and convicted of some violation of the law that disqualifies him from public life.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
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Violence is used to enforce discipline, and those accused of theft or rule violations may be executed or disappeared.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In both films, the effect is of a diminution, a depersonalization—not to say, a desecration of the experience of horror that the documentary element embodies.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
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Brothers Keith and Terrence Nicks were found guilty by separate juries of desecration of human remains, removal of human remains and removal of more than 10 gravestones and markers.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Even aside from Trump’s own enthusiastic personal immorality and impiety, his political style — the pugnacious smear artist and demagogic braggart — was the antithesis of what evangelicals had sought before.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
23 Sep. 2025
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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
Noun
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The event, organized by the Shelby County Republican Party, turned out a small crowd and was greeted by some supportive honks from motorists, but also some cursing at Trump from people in at least two cars passing by.—
Oren Oppenheim,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
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And as Siniaková showed emotion of her own in the joy of vanquishing such a favorite, Andreeva started her walk out of the stadium that would end in cursing and acrimony.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Forty-seven years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
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Though Guelleh has presided over economic growth during his time as president, economic benefits have not fully trickled down, and much of the population remains mired in poverty; this economic inequality is due in part to corruption and patronage.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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It’s usually intended as an insult.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
8 Apr. 2026
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Villanueva’s claim that deputy gangs don’t exist and have never existed is an insult to the public and to the deputies who have spoken out about their direct experience dealing with these gangs of criminal officers.—
Rafael Perez,
Daily News,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irreverence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreverence. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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