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
Surely, there’s something utterly sacrilegious about laughing hysterically at actors giving God the middle finger.
—
Michael James Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 June 2025
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, 30 May 2025
Alfie, who’s either being willfully obtuse or radically uncompromising, sees nothing sacrilegious in Wilde’s one-act tragedy.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
According to the first-century Jewish philosopher Philo and the historian Josephus, Pilate had his soldiers carry objects that honored Roman emperors into Jerusalem, which Jewish residents saw as sacrilegious.
—Nathanael Andrade, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Michael James Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 June 2025
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, 30 May 2025
Alfie, who’s either being willfully obtuse or radically uncompromising, sees nothing sacrilegious in Wilde’s one-act tragedy.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
According to the first-century Jewish philosopher Philo and the historian Josephus, Pilate had his soldiers carry objects that honored Roman emperors into Jerusalem, which Jewish residents saw as sacrilegious.
—Nathanael Andrade, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sacrilegious
Adjective
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Sharing song lyrics over WhatsApp that others deemed blasphemous against the Prophet Muhammad.—
Sean Nelson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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When a blasphemous pop star threatens to upend their happy life and displace the sisters, Mother Constance sets out to save the convent by any means necessary.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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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But as in most of his roles since The Departed and The Fighter, Wahlberg shows little charisma, particularly when he’s flanked by an actor with the irreverent verve of LaKeith Stanfield, who steals every scene without even breaking a sweat.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
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Italian denim brand Diesel has been a fixture on the scene since the 1970s, celebrated for its edgy and irreverent styles that defined Italian streetwear.—
Abbey Hudetz,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Hamas’s founding goal was to wrest control of the Palestinian national movement from its secular rivals and transform it into an Islamist cause.—
Hussein Ibish,
The Atlantic,
1 Oct. 2025
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Interview Jews, Israeli Arabs, Druze, orthodox, secular, etc.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Just before the combine, though, Cam, while practicing alone at night, is struck in the head by a strange pagan spirit-slash-mascot that emerges out of the shadows.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
19 Sep. 2025
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These wooden churches were once common across the country, built when Christianity was still new and pagan traditions lingered.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sacrilegious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sacrilegious. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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