as in blasphemy
an act of great disrespect shown to God or to sacred ideas, people, or things
the unspeakable impiety of spitting in a church
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impiety
By one hand, he is bound to himself, to his impiety, his recklessness, his envy and pride, his guilt and spite.
—
Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
By one hand, he is bound to himself, to his impiety, his recklessness, his envy and pride, his guilt and spite.
—Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
Clouzot supplied that insight in strong visual terms: Fresnay’s conflicting impiety and righteous anger and so much dissatisfaction and panic among the townsfolk.
—Armond White, National Review, 20 Nov. 2024
But the books complement each other in isolating a specific strain of mid-century masculinity, one that’s a strange mix of entitlement and passivity, austerity and impiety, dutifulness and indifference.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2024
The impieties are to be taken as possibilities, not as actual truths.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
Yet impieties are explosive, which may explain why comic careers oscillate between in and out, as with those of Lenny Bruce and Andrew Dice Clay—one going from sick to saintly, the other from provocatively transgressive to vehemently taboo, in short order.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
If Socrates were still around (Letters, Nov. 3), he wouldn’t be canceled for impiety and corrupting the youth.
—Stephen Borkowski, WSJ, 7 Nov. 2023
Asclepius was a gifted healer, too gifted perhaps, and he was killed by Zeus for the impiety of raising the dead.
—Teju Cole, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
By one hand, he is bound to himself, to his impiety, his recklessness, his envy and pride, his guilt and spite.
—Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
Clouzot supplied that insight in strong visual terms: Fresnay’s conflicting impiety and righteous anger and so much dissatisfaction and panic among the townsfolk.
—Armond White, National Review, 20 Nov. 2024
But the books complement each other in isolating a specific strain of mid-century masculinity, one that’s a strange mix of entitlement and passivity, austerity and impiety, dutifulness and indifference.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2024
The impieties are to be taken as possibilities, not as actual truths.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
Yet impieties are explosive, which may explain why comic careers oscillate between in and out, as with those of Lenny Bruce and Andrew Dice Clay—one going from sick to saintly, the other from provocatively transgressive to vehemently taboo, in short order.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
If Socrates were still around (Letters, Nov. 3), he wouldn’t be canceled for impiety and corrupting the youth.
—Stephen Borkowski, WSJ, 7 Nov. 2023
Asclepius was a gifted healer, too gifted perhaps, and he was killed by Zeus for the impiety of raising the dead.
—Teju Cole, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impiety
Noun
-
While Christians born into the faith are free to practice, Iran’s Shariah laws state that abandoning Islam for another religion is considered blasphemy, punishable by death.—
Farnaz Fassihi,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2025
-
So too do the French disagree on the limits of satire and blasphemy, despite their honored places in French culture.—
Colette Davidson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Such a transformation would represent an irrevocable loss: a profound sacrilege not only to the city’s rich history but also to the cultural legacy for the future generations.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
23 Feb. 2025
-
For many liberals and radicals, beginning with Lord Byron, Elgin was a vandal who had committed sacrilege.—
Ralph Leonard,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The post was an apparent violation of Major League Baseball’s social media policy, which prohibits the use of electronic devices during games.—
Paulina Dedaj,
FOXNews.com,
19 Apr. 2025
-
In legal terms, the lawsuits are saying oil and gas companies violated consumer-protection laws and committed common-law civil violations such as negligence.—
Hannah Wiseman,
The Conversation,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The Trump administration is substantially scaling back the State Department's annual reports on international human rights to remove longstanding critiques of abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corruption and restrictions on participation in the political process, NPR has learned.—
Graham Smith,
NPR,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Thao has since been indicted for bribery and corruption.—
Jonathan Easley,
The Hill,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson, the Court ruled that flag desecration is protected under the First Amendment.—
Matt Robison,
Newsweek,
25 Feb. 2025
-
For some fans, the changes may feel like a desecration.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Scottish hen parties were deemed to contain ritualistic profanation.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
-
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; ’Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love.—
John Edgar Wideman,
The New Yorker,
8 July 2021
Noun
-
With a premiere date set for July 9, the long-running Comedy Central series, masterminded by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, is coming back with all the irreverence fans have come to expect.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
2 Apr. 2025
-
Very carefully, unless your boss is Graydon Carter, whose gift for irreverence and self-deprecation is almost as legendary as his hair.—
Jim Kelly,
Air Mail,
29 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impiety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impiety. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share