sacrilege Hear it!

sacrilege Definition

sac·ri·lege (sak′rə lij′)

noun

  1. the act of appropriating to oneself or to secular use, or of violating, what is consecrated to God or religion
  2. the intentional desecration or disrespectful treatment of a person, place, thing, or idea held sacred

Etymology: ME < MFr < L sacrilegium < sacrilegus, temple robber < sacer, sacred + legere, to gather up, take away: see logic

sacrilege Synonyms

sacrilege

n.

profanation, desecration, blasphemy, impiety, curse, violation; see also blasphemy, heresy.

sacrilege implies a violation of something sacred, as by appropriating to oneself or to a secular use something that has been dedicated to a religious purpose; profanation suggests a lack of reverence or a positive contempt for things regarded as sacred; desecration implies a removal of the sacredness of some object or place, as by defiling or polluting it

sacrilege Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • seem: Such was its reputation that it seemed sacrilege to dare to improve on it.

Adjective modifier

  • such: I am still, to this day, apologizing to my dear friend Pierre for dragging him out to witness such sacrilege.
sacrilege Quotes

O double sacrilege on things divine, To rob the relic, and deface the shrine!

—Dryden,John