sanctity
Americannoun
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sanctities
plural
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holiness, saintliness, or godliness.
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sacred or hallowed character.
the inviolable sanctity of the temple.
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a sacred thing.
noun
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the condition of being sanctified; holiness
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anything regarded as sanctified or holy
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the condition of being inviolable; sacredness
the sanctity of marriage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sanctity
1350–1400; < Latin sānctitās holiness, equivalent to sānct- ( see Sanctus) + -itās -ity; replacing Middle English sauntite < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
Explanation
Sanctity describes something that is holy, like the sanctity of religious objects to believers. Sanctity goes back to the Latin root sanctus, meaning "holy" or "sacred." A synonym for sanctity is godliness and most religions describe God as completely holy. Sanctity also can describe sacred obligation or rights — you may have heard of the sanctity of marriage, meaning the value and respect society shows to married people.
Vocabulary lists containing sanctity
"Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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This Week in Pop Culture: April 6–12, 2019
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The Handmaid's Tale
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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.
See Examples For:
“At the core of most religious traditions is a recognition of the sanctity of life and humanity over injury and profit,” Rabbi Jennie Rosenn of the Jewish climate advocacy group Dayenu said in a statement.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
Those odors coming from the warehouse fire in Boyle Heights aren’t the odors of sanctity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Now rulings by courts, the provincial government and Ottawa may undermine the sanctity of their contracts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
"Our core belief regarding the sanctity of blood remains unchanged," a spokesperson for the group said.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
And, of course, he was forbidden to teach math to prevent further threats to the sanctity of football.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
“No one would dare to insult Islamic sanctities from now on,” he said.
From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2022
"We believe that sanctities need to be respected," he said before nuclear talks in Geneva with U.S.
From Reuters ● Jan. 14, 2015
“We believe that sanctities need to be respected,” Zarif said.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 14, 2015
"We believe that sanctities need to be respected," Zarif said.
From Reuters ● Jan. 14, 2015
Monica was like a Roman Catholic in the matter-of-fact way in which she alluded to something that for Pauline pierced such sanctities as could scarcely even be mentioned by herself to her own soul.
From Plashers Mead A Novel by Compton MacKenzie
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.
