as in blasphemous
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
a sacrilegious, obscene joke—and told in church at that!
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sacrilegious
But how can considering sincere questions of faith and meaning within a place of worship be sacrilegious or desperate?
—
Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Think that's wild and somehow sacrilegious?
—Marcus K. Dowling, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Sep. 2025
Any extra trimmings would land somewhere between glib and sacrilegious.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2025
Drinking a Bloody Mary at night just feels wrong and confusing, sacrilegious even, which is hilarious because everything else goes.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 30 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Think that's wild and somehow sacrilegious?
—Marcus K. Dowling, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Sep. 2025
Any extra trimmings would land somewhere between glib and sacrilegious.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2025
Drinking a Bloody Mary at night just feels wrong and confusing, sacrilegious even, which is hilarious because everything else goes.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 30 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sacrilegious
Adjective
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That seems like a blasphemous question, but the Lakers were outscored all season a year ago with James on the floor.—
Law Murray,
New York Times,
27 Oct. 2025
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Stowe is known mainly for Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel profoundly informed by her Christian nationalist belief that the United States was failing in its mission to become a New Canaan, precisely because of the blasphemous practice of slavery.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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While no formal announcement has been made to update its longstanding alcohol ban, Andrew Leber of Tulane University said this is in line with the Kingdom’s past approach to such potentially impious reforms.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Dec. 2025
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The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.—
Mariana Dimópulos,
Harpers Magazine,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Iran is a theocratic republic rooted ideologically in Shiite Islam while Venezuela is a socialist and secular regime.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
7 Jan. 2026
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Concern was higher among older and secular Israelis.—
Grace Gilson,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Musk has marketed Grok as more fun and irreverent than other chatbots, taking pride in X being a place for free speech.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
7 Jan. 2026
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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude.—
Chas Newkey-Burden,
TheWeek,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Over the course of that months-long reporting, a picture has emerged of the radical characters involved with the property, including a notorious neo-Nazi family and a pagan mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
15 Dec. 2025
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The History of Hanukkah More than 2,000 years ago, Antiochus, a cruel ruler of the Greek Kingdom, imposed pagan beliefs on the Jewish people.—
Holly Rizzuto Palker,
Parents,
14 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sacrilegious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sacrilegious. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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