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sacrilegious

[ sak-ruh-lij-uhs, -lee-juhs ]
/ ˌsæk rəˈlɪdʒ əs, -ˈli dʒəs /
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adjective
pertaining to or involving sacrilege: sacrilegious practices.
guilty of sacrilege: a sacrilegious person.
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Origin of sacrilegious

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

how to pronounce sacrilegious

The almost universal pronunciation of sacrilegious as [sak-ruh-lij-uhs] /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-juhs] /ˌsæk rəˈli dʒəs/ occurs in American English, though not in British English, and criticism of the newer pronunciation has almost disappeared.

OTHER WORDS FROM sacrilegious

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sacrilegious

1. irreligious, sacrilegious , unreligious2. religious, sacrilegious , sacrosanct
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sacrilegious in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sacrilegious

sacrilegious
/ (ˌsækrɪˈlɪdʒəs) /

adjective
of, relating to, or involving sacrilege; impious
guilty of sacrilege

Derived forms of sacrilegious

sacrilegiously, 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
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