sacrilege
Americannoun
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the violation or profanation of anything sacred or held sacred.
-
an instance of this.
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the stealing of anything consecrated to the service of God.
noun
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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
-
the act or an instance of taking anything sacred for secular use
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sacrilege
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
Explanation
If you show up to an animal rights rally with a bucket full of fried chicken for lunch, you may be accused of committing sacrilege. You are violating a belief held sacred, at least by some individuals. Sacrilege has its roots in the Latin sacr-, meaning "holy." Sacrilege was originally reserved for talking about blasphemous acts that disrespect, violate, or misuse holy traditions or objects. However, today the term sacrilege carries a broader, and lighter, meaning than its origins suggest. For example, it's usually considered sacrilege to root for the out-of-town team that's playing against your home team. Ancient users of this word might think our looser definition is sacrilege.
Vocabulary lists containing sacrilege
Things Fall Apart
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
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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.
Being complicit, however reluctantly, in their destruction seemed almost sacrilege.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
To refer to the Manhattanite rock quintet as third best in any context feels like music sacrilege.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
He was a diminutive guitar deity who could only have descended in America, but calling him something so plain and mortal as “American” still feels close to sacrilege.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2026
That claim might seem like sacrilege to generations of basketball fans who watched golden eras of the NBA from Wilt/Russell to LeBron/Curry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
For Smith, walking into that barn must have been akin to entering a cathedral; telling Fitzsimmons that he could improve on his work must have felt like sacrilege.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
