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

Other Word Forms

• sacrilegist noun

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

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

Example Sentences

He’s furious that Meryl Streep is being considered as the voice of Aslan from “The Chronicles of Narnia,” because it’s supposedly sacrilege for a woman to play a male talking lion.

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He had pleaded guilty to the 2024 arson attack which the church described as "an act of desecration and sacrilege".

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Sir Gavin branded name change a "woke moment" in what he called the "pathetic" Ministry of Defence, while Shapps decried the decision as "sacrilege" and evidence of "Labour's woke nonsense".

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A flamboyant clergyman with a flair for vaping, Tedesco promises to cease “the sacrilege of relativism, placing all faiths as equal.”

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But there has been fierce resistance along the way, particularly from some fellow surfers who think the whole idea of turning an intimate, almost zen-like communion with nature into a competition is sacrilege.

Read more on Los Angeles Times