sacrilegious

adjective

ˌsa-krə-ˈli-jəs How to pronounce sacrilegious (audio)
Definition of sacrilegiousnext
as in blasphemous
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred a sacrilegious, obscene joke—and told in church at that!

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 sacrilegious 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 The president's post was interpreted as sacrilegious even by those who usually support him. — Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026 The Next Generation was sacrilegious to most Trekkies. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sacrilegious
  1. blasphemous
  2. impious
  3. secular
  4. atheistic
  5. irreverent
  6. pagan
Adjective
  • Societies throughout history have punished language deemed blasphemous, seditious, inciting or slanderous.
    — Paul Quigley, The Conversation, 13 July 2026
  • Many of their performances are blasphemous, and their work only displays hate and mockery of Catholics and the Christian faith.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 June 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
  • The cinemas were filled with diverse crowds, Jews and Arabs, secular and religious citizens, locals and internationals.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 20 July 2026
  • Kolorenko grew up in a secular Jewish family in Russia during the Soviet era.
    — Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 20 July 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
  • The messages were casual, sly, a little irreverent—proof that Google wasn’t like any other company—while always amplifying the corporate mythology.
    — Claire Stapleton, New Yorker, 18 July 2026
  • The Carnaby expertly mixes Ramsay’s reputation for Michelin star culinary excellence with a 1960s British Invasion rock n’ roll vibe that’s retro hip, energetic and just a bit irreverent.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 16 July 2026
Definition of irreverent
Adjective
  • There’s more than a tinge of folk horror to this lingering mystery, which brings to mind the 1973 genre landmark The Wicker Man, in which a puritanical police officer travels to a remote island community that’s reverted to old pagan ways.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 15 June 2026
  • Glenn Turner, the former owner of a pagan and metaphysical shop, is running as a member of the Green Party.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Definition of pagan

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Cite this Entry

“Sacrilegious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sacrilegious. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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