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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For creatives, its use was treated like blasphemy.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
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Interreligious tension exists, with arbitrary detentions of Christians and arrests under the nation’s blasphemy laws.—
Mathew Schmalz,
The Conversation,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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That might sound like sacrilege, because the NFL is beyond criticism for many sports fans, but the draft is the ideal example of what the league has become and the importance of gambling to modern audiences.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
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Religious and political leaders from around the world condemned the image, some calling it a sacrilege.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Both Israel and Hezbollah have traded accusations of ceasefire violations, with a Lebanese journalist, Amal Khalil, killed in an Israeli airstrike just yesterday.—
Sean Nevin,
NBC news,
24 Apr. 2026
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Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Giveaway or website, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Official Rules, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated entries will be void.—
AJC.com,
AJC.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Against desecration of our flag bill 4.—
Gary Franks,
Hartford Courant,
4 Apr. 2026
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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
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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The causes of displacement are largely attributed to political conflict, corruption, violence and economic hardship, including widespread poverty.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2026
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Though the official inquest failed to determine whether Zac jumped to escape danger or to kill himself, The New Yorker’s Keefe winds up blaming the death on the corruption of London in recent decades by oligarchs, con men, and international criminals.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There are comic insults and lines of great beauty.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
21 Apr. 2026
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The president often hurled insults at Bezos and his ownership of The Washington Post, as well as his tax record.—
Annie Palmer,Justin Papp,
CNBC,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irreverence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreverence. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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