desecration
Americannoun
-
the act of treating something sacred or solemn in a sacrilegious or disrespectful way.
Many locals opposed the use of their former church building as a courthouse, feeling that conducting civil matters there would be a desecration of a holy place.
-
the act of ruining or violating something revered or greatly valued.
Greedy corporations are contributing to the demise of civilization and the desecration of the ecosystem.
Other Word Forms
- nondesecration noun
Etymology
Origin of desecration
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.
Certain hardline sections of the ultra-Orthodox community disagree with autopsies, saying any interference with a dead body is a desecration according to the Torah.
From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026
West Virginia, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Louisiana, Iowa, Illinois—these isolated local stories are combining to mark a nationwide desecration of the dead.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
But Roberts’ opinion is a severe distortion of Jackson’s legacy—and, indeed, it is no overstatement to say that it is a desecration of Jackson’s memory and his heroic service as Nuremberg prosecutor.
From Slate • Sep. 1, 2025
"That original taking was illicit, was unethical, was a form of desecration," he told BBC News NI.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2025
“When a body is left alone after death, in a state of desecration, the soul becomes corrupted,” he said, as though I hadn’t even spoken.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
