SACRILEGIOUS Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

sacrilegious

adjective

ˌsa-krə-ˈli-jəs

Definition of sacrilegious

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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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 sacrilegious In any other context, a house of God smattered with people staring at their phones, trusting AI to speak to them, might feel sacrilegious. — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 26 May 2026 Call me sacrilegious, but there’s one place that a King’s Hawaiian roll tastes even better than the altar rail, and that’s at the beach. — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 25 May 2026 To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. — Jeremy Mennis, The Conversation, 1 May 2026 Burstyn concerned a short film directed by Roberto Rossellini called The Miracle (1948) that had been banned in New York as sacrilegious. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sacrilegious

Adjective

The image of him, his attire a blasphemous betrayal of the wholesome fun a clown costume promises, and with vibrant, colorful balloons in his hand, lingers in our minds for a long time.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
But when The Satanic Verses was published in 1988, the novel was declared by some as blasphemous, and then-Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa for Rushdie to be assassinated, leading the author to go into hiding until 1998.

— Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of blasphemous

Adjective

Many other traditionalists have made a version of Scruton’s critique, insisting that contemporary art reflects self-indulgent, relativistic, and impious tendencies.

— Luis Parrales, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
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

Definition of impious

Adjective

Despite offers, the Pentecostals there have declined to sell it back into secular use.

— Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 3 Sep. 2026
While Insulet stock may face volatility from unrelated issues, the underlying secular demand for tubeless insulin delivery remains highly resilient against the GLP-1 wave.

— Harvey Stober, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of secular

Adjective

His father's death during World War II influenced his pursuit of the ministry even amid the officially atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union, according to his obituary on the OCU website.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
But there has been a recent rise in secular congregations that explicitly mimic religious organizations and rituals to celebrate atheistic worldviews.

— Jacqui Frost, The Conversation, 11 Jan. 2024

Definition of atheistic

Adjective

Seeing those ancient sculptures would have a lasting impact on Cabrera, whose work contained forms that recall pagan ritual and prehistoric objects.

— Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
The denials followed the Temple's Capitol holiday display in 2023, centered on a statue of the pagan idol Baphomet, alongside other religious displays allowed by the state.

— William Morris, Des Moines Register, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of pagan

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“Sacrilegious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sacrilegious. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of sacrilegious

adjective

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