as in atheistical
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
irreverent behavior during church services
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of irreverent
The film follows an ensemble of campers who are weary of platitudes about grief, and speak to one another from a place of radical honesty that is by turns heartbreaking and darkly hilarious, embracing irreverent humor as a cathartic means of self-expression.
—
Addie Morfoot, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
Grok, named after the term coined by sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein and modeled after the irreverent tone of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is designed to be a companion, a guide — and, apparently, quite a bit of a troublemaker.
—Anisha Sircar, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
At that time, writers like Ashbery and Frank O’Hara were helping to establish a new idiom in American poetry, something serious without self-seriousness: the new poetry was open to the city’s rhythms, irreverent but tender—and clearly, if not openly, gay.
—David S. Wallace, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2025
The irreverent former late-night host will make a repeat performance as host of the 98th Academy Awards in March 2026, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irreverent
Addie Morfoot, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
Grok, named after the term coined by sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein and modeled after the irreverent tone of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is designed to be a companion, a guide — and, apparently, quite a bit of a troublemaker.
—Anisha Sircar, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
At that time, writers like Ashbery and Frank O’Hara were helping to establish a new idiom in American poetry, something serious without self-seriousness: the new poetry was open to the city’s rhythms, irreverent but tender—and clearly, if not openly, gay.
—David S. Wallace, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2025
The irreverent former late-night host will make a repeat performance as host of the 98th Academy Awards in March 2026, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irreverent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreverent
Adjective
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In other words, despite its seeming departure from Maine’s binary logic, the Second World was really a slice of the non-West that, contrary to expectations, embraced an explicitly secular and modernizing agenda: socialism.—
Zachariah Mampilly,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Apr. 2025
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But the church’s decision to make Catholic Charities a separate corporate entity means that this entity is not exempt from the state’s unemployment law — because Catholic Charities itself only provides secular services.—
Ian Millhiser,
Vox,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Many Muslims found some of the depictions offensive and even blasphemous.—
Lola Fadulu,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
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The piece was dubbed blasphemous by many Muslims and has been banned in Iran since 1988.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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For Western audiences, this abrupt pause may seem like a momentum-killer or even sacrilegious.—
Viren Naidu,
IndieWire,
24 Mar. 2025
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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
Adjective
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This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.—
Simone Weil,
Harper's Magazine,
2 July 2024
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This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.—
Simone Weil,
Harper's Magazine,
22 May 2024
Cite this Entry
“Irreverent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreverent. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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