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View synonyms for sacrilege

sacrilege

[ sak-ruh-lij ]

noun

  1. the violation or profanation of anything sacred or held sacred.
  2. an instance of this.
  3. the stealing of anything consecrated to the service of God.


sacrilege

/ ˈsækrɪlɪdʒ; ˌsækrɪˈliːdʒɪst /

noun

  1. the misuse or desecration of anything regarded as sacred or as worthy of extreme respect

    to play Mozart's music on a kazoo is sacrilege

  2. the act or an instance of taking anything sacred for secular use


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Derived Forms

  • sacrilegist, noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of sacrilege1

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French < Latin sacrilegium, equivalent to sacri- (combining form of sacrum holy place) + leg ( ere ) to steal, literally, gather + -ium -ium

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Word History and Origins

Origin of sacrilege1

C13: from Old French sacrilège, from Latin sacrilegium, from sacrilegus temple-robber, from sacra sacred things + legere to take

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Example Sentences

He tells The Daily Beast that people thought transplanting organs “was sacrilege.”

In this respect, sacrilege as it may seem, Netanyahu may actually most closely resemble Yitzhak Rabin.

As three streets out of four take their name from a church or an abbey, there seems every chance of further sacrilege there.

His gesture is so bold it has a whiff of sacrilege, not just of art-world rebellion.

The alternative—burning gas over fake logs—seems a sacrilege.

In the course of time, absolution for the sacrilege was obtained from the Pope; but my father could never obtain it from himself.

But the gateways have been standing for ages and it would be sacrilege to think of tearing them down to facilitate traffic.

Somehow the thought of opening his heart to this matter-of-fact lawyer seemed like sacrilege.

I felt it was a sacrilege to lift my eyes to this young weeping mother, so beautiful in her tears.

Soon afterwards Mathurin Lejeusne, the instigator of the sacrilege, was shot for some breach of military duty.

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sacrificial anodesacrilegious