deconsecrate

verb

de·​con·​se·​crate (ˌ)dē-ˈkän(t)-sə-ˌkrāt 

deconsecrated; deconsecrating; deconsecrates

transitive verb

: to remove the sacred character of

deconsecrate a church

deconsecration

(ˌ)dē-ˌkän(t)-sə-ˈkrā-shən 

noun

Synonyms

• desacralize
• desanctify

Examples of deconsecrate in a Sentence

hoping to raise much-needed funds, the church elders deconsecrated the 18th-century silver chalice and consigned it to a high-end auction house

Recent Examples on the Web

But the seminal Spanish-language church was deconsecrated by the Archdiocese of New York in January, paving the way for its potential sale, alteration or demolition. —John Freeman Gill, New York Times, 2 June 2023

Perhaps the best thing would be to deconsecrate the site and create a museum that explains what happened at the Valley itself. —The Economist, 24 Oct. 2019

The church was deconsecrated in 2010, and the charter school arrived in 2013. —Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 13 Aug. 2019

In late July, about 70 former members were drawn back to the synagogue for a service to deconsecrate the synagogue. —Karen Berkowitz, chicagotribune.com, 1 Aug. 2019

Whether a gutted and deconsecrated former church building fits the definition remains to be seen. —Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 3 June 2019

There is no single answer, but protest, not piety, seems to be a recurring theme—whether or not the venue is deconsecrated. —Vogue, 24 Apr. 2018

The archdiocese, which had been bent on leveling the deconsecrated building, then reversed course and found a developer willing to convert the 19th century Polish church into apartments. —Inga Saffron, Philly.com, 22 Mar. 2018

Under canon law, a church cannot serve secular purposes, like a restaurant, without first being relegated, or deconsecrated. —Jordan Otero Sisson, Courant Community, 25 Aug. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for deconsecrate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate