verb
-
to violate or outrage the sacred character of (an object or place) by destructive, blasphemous, or sacrilegious action
-
to remove the consecration from (a person, object, building, etc); deconsecrate
Other Word Forms
- desecrater noun
- desecration noun
- desecrator noun
- undesecrated adjective
Etymology
Origin of desecrate
First recorded in 1665–75; de- + -secrate, modeled on consecrate
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.
Westminster Mall, a once-popular shopping center that has been desecrated by graffiti and vandalism since it closed last year, is on track for demolition soon.
From Los Angeles Times
“I’m an old man. I am no use without the river, and I will not live to see it desecrated.”
From Literature
Her statement on X claimed the protestors were “desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”
From Salon
“And it’s not just Wall Street. It’s that lovely stretch of land by the sea that has since been desecrated by that horrid carnival.”
From Literature
I regretted being honest, because in the moment, it felt as though honesty had desecrated the connection Allen and I were building.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
