irreverent
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irreverent
1485–95; < Latin irreverent- (stem of irreverēns ) disrespectful. See ir- 2, reverent
Explanation
If you are irreverent, you don’t show respect toward something, like your irreverent singing of your school's alma mater in a funny voice. To be irreverent doesn’t necessarily mean you don't like something; it’s just that you don’t display the same honor for it that other people do. You might have a more light-hearted approach, poking fun of the way other people seem to almost blindly show their devotion. For example, when people at the Louvre are standing in hushed awe in front of the "Mona Lisa" it would be irreverent to holler "What's so great about that?"
Vocabulary lists containing irreverent
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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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.
He described the vows as "long, entertaining, personal, charming, emotional, irreverent and endearing explorations by each" about how they met and why they wanted to be married.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
“Club Kid” is a blast: a spicy, surprising and irreverent comedy that rarely peddles the audience anything artificially sweet.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
Her irreverent photographs show off the style: They are framed waist down or shoulders up, from ground level or from far above.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
"Centre stage we have Saraya, who is this mouthy, irreverent outsider, complicated, flawed, and it's her journey of realising all those attributes are the things that make her really special," Cooper said.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
The day after the death of Aureliano Segundo, one of the friends who had brought the wreath with the irreverent inscription offered to pay Fernanda some money that he had owed her husband.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
