sacrilegious

[sak-ruh-lij-uh s, -lee-juh s]

adjective

pertaining to or involving sacrilege: sacrilegious practices.

guilty of sacrilege: a sacrilegious person.

Origin of sacrilegious

1400–50; late Middle English sacrilegiose; see sacrilege, -ous

Related formssac·ri·le·gious·ly, adverbsac·ri·le·gious·ness, nounnon·sac·ri·le·gious, adjectivenon·sac·ri·le·gious·ly, adverbnon·sac·ri·le·gious·ness, nounpseu·do·sac·ri·le·gious, adjectivepseu·do·sac·ri·le·gious·ly, adverbun·sac·ri·le·gious, adjectiveun·sac·ri·le·gious·ly, adverbun·sac·ri·le·gious·ness, noun

Can be confusedirreligious sacrilegious unreligiousreligious sacrilegious sacrosanct

Pronunciation note

The almost universal pronunciation of sacrilegious as

[sak-ruh-lij-uh s] /ˌsæk rəˈlɪdʒ əs/ is the result of folk etymology—modifying the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word so that it conforms to a more familiar one—in this case religious. Etymologically, sacrilegious has no direct relationship to religious. The historical pronunciation

[sak-ruh-lee-juh s] /ˌsæk rəˈli dʒəs/ occurs in American English, though not in British English, and criticism of the newer pronunciation has almost disappeared.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sacrilegiously

Historical Examples of sacrilegiously

He fled with a woman to whom he had been sacrilegiously married.
Catholic World, Vol. XI, April 1870-September 1870
Various
To represent the likenesses of the Prophets is to belittle them inevitably and sacrilegiously.
The Life of Mohammad
Etienne Dinet
But he regarded me in a shocked manner at the very idea of so sacrilegiously altering the text!
Memoirs of an American Prima Donna
Clara Louise Kellogg
Shagarach started to raise her, but the terrible detonation of a pistol rung out, sacrilegiously invading their quietude.
The Incendiary
W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
I remember that the Stonehenge plate greatly impressed me and that I sacrilegiously cut it out of the book so as to have it!
Afoot in England
W.H. Hudson

British Dictionary definitions for sacrilegiously

sacrilegious

adjective

of, relating to, or involving sacrilege; impious

guilty of sacrilege

Derived Formssacrilegiously, adverbsacrilegiousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sacrilegiously

sacrilegious

adj.

mid-15c., from Latin sacrilegiosum, from sacrilegium (see sacrilege). As a noun, "one who commits a sacrilege," early 14c. Related: Sacrilegiously; sacrilegiousness.