blasphemy

[ blas-fuh-mee ]
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noun,plural blas·phe·mies.
  1. impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.

  2. Judaism.

    • an act of cursing or reviling God.

    • pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) in the original, now forbidden manner instead of using a substitute pronunciation such as Adonai.

  1. Theology. the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.

  2. irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc.: He uttered blasphemies against life itself.

Origin of blasphemy

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English blasphemie, from Late Latin blasphēmia, from Greek, equivalent to blasphem(ous) + -y3

Other words for blasphemy

Other words from blasphemy

  • non·blas·phe·my, noun, plural non·blas·phe·mies.

Words Nearby blasphemy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use blasphemy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for blasphemy

blasphemy

/ (ˈblæsfɪmɪ) /


nounplural -mies
  1. blasphemous behaviour or language

  2. Also called: blasphemous libel law the crime committed if a person insults, offends, or vilifies the deity, Christ, or the Christian religion

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012