as in blasphemy
an act of great disrespect shown to God or to sacred ideas, people, or things
the sect has no tolerance for any irreverence directed toward their spiritual leader
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Recent Examples of irreverence
One of the great things about standup comedy is the freedom and the irreverence of it.
—
Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 4 May 2025
Page brought streetwise irreverence and church-house parody into her routines, proving that Black women could own their sexuality, and spirituality all at once.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 30 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for irreverence
Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 4 May 2025
Page brought streetwise irreverence and church-house parody into her routines, proving that Black women could own their sexuality, and spirituality all at once.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 30 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for irreverence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreverence
Noun
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In a mix of fascination, irreverence, fandom and possible blasphemy, video compilations of cardinals with Charli XCX soundtracks have popped up online.—
Emma Bubola,
New York Times,
7 May 2025
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Five Christian groups filed complaints to Indonesian police alleging blasphemy, leading to Thalisa’s arrest on October 8.—
Jack Guy,
CNN,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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In the meantime, the city has received several reports of property violations in recent years on 925 Grand: piles of bird droppings, falling debris, people entering through unsecured entrances.—
Chris Higgins,
Kansas City Star,
26 May 2025
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Here are the inspection scores and violations for restaurants within the city limits of Arlington for May 4th - May 17th, 2025 A score of 100 is a perfect score and 70 is considered to be extremely poor.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 May 2025
Noun
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Yet Jesus becomes angered by the desecration of the temple and begins tipping over the merchants' tables in the holy place while wielding a righteous whip.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
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In the first of thirteen live, three-hour shows (with Nelle sitting in the studio audience), the thirty-five-year-old Reagan, accompanied by four Black actors, dramatically reenacted Klan cross-burnings, beatings and shootings, and the desecration of synagogues.—
Richard D. Mahoney,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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The series is centered on organized crime and corruption in Atlantic City during the Prohibition era, using real-life characters like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky.—
Alex Knapp,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
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In 2014, then-Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon was arrested and pleaded guilty in federal court to public corruption charges after accepting more than $50,000 in bribes while in office.—
Nora O’Neill,
Charlotte Observer,
22 May 2025
Noun
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They were quickly showered with boos and insults, along with various food items and beverages, including my mother’s large Pepsi.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
17 May 2025
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Students understood the insult – and its historical sting.—
Simon Montlake,
Christian Science Monitor,
16 May 2025
Noun
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Scottish hen parties were deemed to contain ritualistic profanation.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Irreverence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreverence. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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