as in atheistical
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
a sacrilegious, obscene joke—and told in church at that!
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Recent Examples of sacrilegious
For Western audiences, this abrupt pause may seem like a momentum-killer or even sacrilegious.
—
Viren Naidu, IndieWire, 24 Mar. 2025
The solution, too good to spoil here, involves a sacrilegious yet principled breach of a basic rule—and a tweak to a pitcher’s very identity.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 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, 7 Feb. 2025
Loading your audio article SAN FRANCISCO — NBA commissioner Adam Silver understandably defended mounting criticism of the 3-point shot, and saying anything else would have been sacrilegious in the house Steph Curry built with his unparalleled 3-point prowess.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Viren Naidu, IndieWire, 24 Mar. 2025
The solution, too good to spoil here, involves a sacrilegious yet principled breach of a basic rule—and a tweak to a pitcher’s very identity.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 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, 7 Feb. 2025
Loading your audio article SAN FRANCISCO — NBA commissioner Adam Silver understandably defended mounting criticism of the 3-point shot, and saying anything else would have been sacrilegious in the house Steph Curry built with his unparalleled 3-point prowess.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sacrilegious
Adjective
-
In Europe, the painting was received as a blasphemous shock.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
11 July 2025
-
There’s a quiet and, some might argue, blasphemous revolution happening.—
Trinity Francis,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.—
Simone Weil,
Harper's Magazine,
2 July 2024
Adjective
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This is where Dan Da Dan does not care about offending anyone, as its approach to these matters is entirely irreverent and very funny.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
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And there's something ironic about such a proudly nasty and irreverent series having a place in the hallowed halls of television history.—
Dennis Perkins,
EW.com,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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In India, the demands of blood and soil are now pitted against the exalted idea of a more secular country.—
Aatish Taseer,
Time,
15 July 2025
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As Costa tells it, even the turmoil of the ensuing years, which included a brutal military dictatorship and multiple impeachments, were still at heart secular: Humans, however flawed and at times incredibly cruel, remained at the root of these decisions.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
This attempt to turn back the clock included the purging of Christian texts from schools, the conversion of Christian churches into pagan temples, and religious persecution as it had been practiced in centuries past.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
22 Feb. 2025
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As de Kort tells Live Science, these treasures were buried in several deposits that might have constituted offerings to a pagan god—possibly Wodan, the Germanic persona of the Norse god Odin.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
12 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sacrilegious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sacrilegious. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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