blasphemy

American  

[blas-fuh-mee] / ˈblæs fə mi /

noun

blasphemies plural

1. impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.

   Synonyms:

   impiety, sacrilege, profanity

2. Judaism.

   1. an act of cursing or reviling God.

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

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

4. irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc..

   He uttered blasphemies against life itself.

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blasphemy British  

/ ˈblæsfɪmɪ /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonblasphemy
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• blasphemies
  plural

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.

Related Words

• desecration
• heresy