profanation

noun

ˌprä-fə-ˈnā-shən How to pronounce profanation (audio)
Definition of profanationnext
as in sacrilege
an act of great disrespect shown to God or to sacred ideas, people, or things the First Book of the Maccabees tells of the profanation of the temple of Jerusalem by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167 b.c.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 profanation Scottish hen parties were deemed to contain ritualistic profanation. — Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025 No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; ’Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. — John Edgar Wideman, The New Yorker, 8 July 2021 The first assault is on the Nile itself, which is turned to blood, thereby ruining both agriculture and aquaculture in one swoop, a profanation with religious consequences. — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 28 Nov. 2019 His family has argued that the exhumation would amount to profanation of a burial site, and said the only alternative resting place for Franco should be inside the crypt of the Madrid cathedral, a suggestion that the government found unacceptable. — Raphael Minder, New York Times, 4 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profanation
  1. sacrilege
  2. desecration
  3. blasphemy
  4. violation
  5. impiety
  6. corruption
  7. cursing
  8. irreverence
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
  • The gang steals sacred objects, but their movements around them can resemble ceremony not desecration.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 24 Sep. 2026
  • These are two examples of politicians' truths among a plethora of others that are really lies, distortions, deceptions and desecrations of the citizens' trust in them.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of desecration
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
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of impiety
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
  • But also to the success speaking to a desire for authenticity and irreverence.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 26 Sep. 2026
  • And yet the movie’s central storyline hints at writer-director Bassam Tariq’s inclination to subvert his own brooding-antihero saga, allowing room for unpredictability and the slightest whiff of impish irreverence.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of irreverence

Browse Nearby Words

prof
profanation
profanations
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Profanation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profanation. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on profanation

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about profanation

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All