irreverent
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of irreverent
1485–95; < Latin irreverent- (stem of irreverēns ) disrespectful. See ir- 2, reverent
Explanation
If you are irreverent, you don’t show respect toward something, like your irreverent singing of your school's alma mater in a funny voice. To be irreverent doesn’t necessarily mean you don't like something; it’s just that you don’t display the same honor for it that other people do. You might have a more light-hearted approach, poking fun of the way other people seem to almost blindly show their devotion. For example, when people at the Louvre are standing in hushed awe in front of the "Mona Lisa" it would be irreverent to holler "What's so great about that?"
Vocabulary lists containing irreverent
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Irreverent and candid, Ms. Lee carried herself with rock-star swagger.
From New York Times • May 10, 2023
He is also the author of “The Naked Truth: An Irreverent Chronicle of Delirious Escapades” and “Abracadabra Alakazam.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2021
Irreverent, weird, and affectionate, Doom Patrol is the best new DC Comics adaptation you can watch right now.
From The Verge • Dec. 17, 2020
Irreverent humor helps compensate for the inherent morbidity.
From Washington Post • Nov. 18, 2020
Irreverent contempt of the beautiful mineral to the dictates of science.
From The Shirley Letters from California Mines in 1851-52 by Clappe, Louise Amelia Knapp Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
