blasphemy
Americannoun
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impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.
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Judaism.
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an act of cursing or reviling God.
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pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) in the original, now forbidden manner instead of using a substitute pronunciation such as Adonai.
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Theology. the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.
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irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc..
He uttered blasphemies against life itself.
noun
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blasphemous behaviour or language
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Also called: blasphemous libel. law the crime committed if a person insults, offends, or vilifies the deity, Christ, or the Christian religion
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of blasphemy
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English blasphemie, from Late Latin blasphēmia, from Greek, equivalent to blasphem(ous) + -y 3
Explanation
Saying offensive things about God or religion is blasphemy. Blasphemy can be used for offensive ideas in other areas too. If you're saying something bad about a god, or taking the Lord's name in vain, or questioning a religious institution in any way, you could be accused of blasphemy — insulting something sacred. You can use this word in a lot of other ways too. At a meeting of conservatives, a liberal idea could be considered blasphemy (and vice versa). You might even jokingly cry "Blasphemy!" if a friend said your favorite ice cream flavor stinks.
Vocabulary lists containing blasphemy
The Crucible
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I Am Malala
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The Glass Castle
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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.
“Some countries at the United Nations have quoted Ireland’s Blasphemy laws in Defence of their own repressive regimes,” wrote Mr. Flanagan in a tweet.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2018
On Jan. 5, precisely one year after the last word was penned, Little, Brown will publish “Open Letter: On Blasphemy, Islamophobia, and the True Enemies of Free Expression.”
From Washington Post • Dec. 15, 2015
Blasphemy is an essential part of any religious reform, she argues, and defends her right to speak bluntly.
From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2015
Blasphemy laws are being challenged in a new global campaign launched by a coalition of humanist organisations.
From BBC • Jan. 29, 2015
Blasphemy had supplanted the one and obscene books had taken the place of the other.
From City Crimes or Life in New York and Boston by Thompson, George
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.
