as in atheistical
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
a sacrilegious, obscene joke—and told in church at that!
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 sacrilegious
The cartoon images deeply offended many Muslims, who saw them as sacrilegious.
—
Tom Nouvian and Samuel Petrequin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024
This declaration should not be mistaken for vain clickbait or an attempt to be sacrilegious.
—Dr. Marcus Collins, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Putting Vice and the Bard in the same sentence sounds sacrilegious, but the movie paints Lynne Cheney as a Lady MacBeth type and requires Adams to recite iambic pentameter about Dick’s capacity to usurp some of George W. Bush’s authority.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
For some, pumpkin pie is the staple, and any other choice would be sacrilegious.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Tom Nouvian and Samuel Petrequin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024
This declaration should not be mistaken for vain clickbait or an attempt to be sacrilegious.
—Dr. Marcus Collins, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Putting Vice and the Bard in the same sentence sounds sacrilegious, but the movie paints Lynne Cheney as a Lady MacBeth type and requires Adams to recite iambic pentameter about Dick’s capacity to usurp some of George W. Bush’s authority.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
For some, pumpkin pie is the staple, and any other choice would be sacrilegious.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for sacrilegious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sacrilegious
Adjective
-
Many Muslims found some of the depictions offensive and even blasphemous.—
Lola Fadulu,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
-
However, the group is often met with pushback from Christians, who view Satanism as an illegitimate religion and a blasphemous group that should not be entitled to First Amendment protections.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
16 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.—
Simone Weil,
Harper's Magazine,
2 July 2024
-
Both narratives, private and public, differently restrict our access, so the ideal historian will need great tact and an impious curiosity.—
James Wood,
The New Yorker,
4 Sep. 2023
Adjective
-
This new special is packed with the kind of wild, irreverent fun that only Robot Chicken can deliver.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2025
-
Photo: Courtesy the publisher Founded by six young British architects, Archigram, the irreverent architecture magazine with a cult following, has finally published volume ten, 50 years after the previous one.—
Morgan Meier,
Curbed,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The rock opera is a secular take on the final days of Jesus, and is written as a somewhat provocative, subversive story, but does not outright mock the teachings of Christianity.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
-
In the film, Seeger is portrayed as a secular saint — serene and good humored, the troubadour as social justice warrior.—
Thomas Doherty,
The Hollywood Reporter,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Allen's defense team aggressively pushed their theory that Odinists, members of a pagan Norse religion hijacked by white nationalists, killed the girls during a sacrificial ritual in the woods.—
Kristine Phillips,
The Indianapolis Star,
13 Nov. 2024
-
There’s a lot of folklore, superstition and myth — pagan elements really, that are folded into how people actually practice religion in Ireland.—
Georg Szalai,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Sacrilegious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sacrilegious. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share