as in atheistical
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
a sacrilegious, obscene joke—and told in church at that!
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Recent Examples of sacrilegious
Call me sacrilegious, but there’s one place that a King’s Hawaiian roll tastes even better than the altar rail, and that’s at the beach.
—
Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 30 May 2025
Alfie, who’s either being willfully obtuse or radically uncompromising, sees nothing sacrilegious in Wilde’s one-act tragedy.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
According to the first-century Jewish philosopher Philo and the historian Josephus, Pilate had his soldiers carry objects that honored Roman emperors into Jerusalem, which Jewish residents saw as sacrilegious.
—Nathanael Andrade, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2025
The solution, too good to spoil here, involves a sacrilegious yet principled breach of a basic rule—and a tweak to a pitcher’s very identity.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 30 May 2025
Alfie, who’s either being willfully obtuse or radically uncompromising, sees nothing sacrilegious in Wilde’s one-act tragedy.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
According to the first-century Jewish philosopher Philo and the historian Josephus, Pilate had his soldiers carry objects that honored Roman emperors into Jerusalem, which Jewish residents saw as sacrilegious.
—Nathanael Andrade, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2025
The solution, too good to spoil here, involves a sacrilegious yet principled breach of a basic rule—and a tweak to a pitcher’s very identity.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sacrilegious
Adjective
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When a blasphemous pop star threatens to upend their happy life and displace the sisters, Mother Constance sets out to save the convent by any means necessary.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
17 Sep. 2025
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But isn't the whole idea blasphemous?—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.—
Mariana Dimópulos,
Harpers Magazine,
26 Mar. 2025
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This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.—
Simone Weil,
Harper's Magazine,
2 July 2024
Adjective
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The second is an indie approach that’s often more confrontational, irreverent and angry at the injustice and indifference AIDS patients faced.—
Scott Malia,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
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The whole this is very slapstick and irreverent, and the story is advanced almost exclusively by wacky deus ex machinas.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Herzl and many other Zionist luminaries came from secular backgrounds, but the movement also included more observant Jews.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
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The strong gains look set to continue for TSLA from a technical perspective, noting the stock is far from overbought territory per the monthly stochastics, and the upper boundary of a secular uptrend channel puts resistance above $500.—
Katie Stockton,
CNBC,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These wooden churches were once common across the country, built when Christianity was still new and pagan traditions lingered.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
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Previous defense motions have also claimed that German and Williams' murders were actually a ritual sacrifice committed by Odinists, members of a pagan religion linked with White nationalism, per CNN.—
Jordana Comiter,
People.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sacrilegious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sacrilegious. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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