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View synonyms for sacrilegious

sacrilegious

[ sak-ruh-lij-uhs, -lee-juhs ]

adjective

  1. pertaining to or involving sacrilege:

    sacrilegious practices.

  2. guilty of sacrilege:

    a sacrilegious person.



sacrilegious

/ ˌsækrɪˈlɪdʒəs /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or involving sacrilege; impious
  2. guilty of sacrilege
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Pronunciation Note

The almost universal pronunciation of sacrilegious as [sak-r, uh, -, lij, -, uh, s] is the result of folk etymology—modifying the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word so that it conforms to a more familiar one—in this case religious. Etymologically, sacrilegious has no direct relationship to religious. The historical pronunciation [sak-r, uh, -, lee, -j, uh, s] occurs in American English, though not in British English, and criticism of the newer pronunciation has almost disappeared.
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Derived Forms

  • ˌsacriˈlegiousness, noun
  • ˌsacriˈlegiously, adverb
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Other Word Forms

  • sacri·legious·ly adverb
  • sacri·legious·ness noun
  • nonsac·ri·legious adjective
  • nonsac·ri·legious·ly adverb
  • nonsac·ri·legious·ness noun
  • pseudo·sacri·legious adjective
  • pseudo·sacri·legious·ly adverb
  • unsac·ri·legious adjective
  • unsac·ri·legious·ly adverb
  • unsac·ri·legious·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of sacrilegious1

1400–50; late Middle English sacrilegiose; sacrilege, -ous
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

If we are not serious people, Trump is unserious to a sacrilegious degree.

From Salon

Arnold Schoenberg’s sacrilegious “Pierrot Lunaire” foretold a distortion of reality that has never left us.

Cancer Christ mixes Christian, satanic and other “reptilian” imagery in an intentionally and outlandishly sacrilegious mix, with members at times wearing snake masks atop religious garments.

“Ironic” is Jackson’s unapologetic description for a song that lures an audience into a religious fervor for a sacrilegious sentiment.

Stern acknowledges that although the original is “embedded in people’s hearts” and it might be “sacrilegious” to say “Home Alone 2,” “the filming of that one is the winner.”

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