Meaning & use
sacrilegious
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableformal
Showing deep disrespect toward something holy, or damaging a sacred place or object.
Grammar: Used after be or before a noun: a sacrilegious act; the spelling is sacrilegious, not sacreligious.
Patterns
- a sacrilegious act
- be sacrilegious to do something
Defacing the ancient temple was a sacrilegious act.
Some visitors thought it sacrilegious to take photographs during the service.
The priest called the theft sacrilegious.
adjectivecomparablehumorousfigurative
Treating something deeply respected, though not religious, with shocking disrespect.
Grammar: Often humorous or exaggerated: it is sacrilegious to put pineapple on pizza.
Patterns
- it is sacrilegious to do something
Putting ketchup on a fine steak is sacrilegious to some chefs.
To the fans, selling the club's old stadium felt sacrilegious.
My mother thinks it is sacrilegious to cut the family recipe.
Word forms
| comparative | more sacrilegious |
|---|---|
| superlative | most sacrilegious |
Common combinations
- sacrilegious act
- Burning the holy book was a sacrilegious act.
- deeply sacrilegious
- Many found the joke deeply sacrilegious.
- sacrilegious remark
- His sacrilegious remark offended the congregation.
- consider it sacrilegious
- They consider it sacrilegious to enter without removing shoes.
- almost sacrilegious
- It felt almost sacrilegious to change the old song.
Synonyms and how they differ
- blasphemous
- Blasphemous refers to words or acts that insult God or religion, while sacrilegious covers damage to holy things too.
- profane
- Profane means not respecting what is holy, and is a little broader and more literary.
- irreverent
- Irreverent is milder and means lacking respect, while sacrilegious suggests real offence against the sacred.
- impious
- Impious is a formal word that means lacking respect for religion, and it is rarer than sacrilegious.
Opposites
Word family
- sacrilege noun
- disrespectful treatment of something sacred
- sacrilegiously adverb
- in a way that shows disrespect for something sacred
- sacred adjective
- holy or deserving great respect
- sacrilegiousness noun
- the quality of being sacrilegious
Commonly confused: sacrilegious or religious?
sacrilegious vs religious
Religious means connected with faith. Sacrilegious describes disrespect toward holy things and is often misspelled sacreligious because of religious.
Practice
Which spelling is correct for the adjective meaning showing disrespect for holy things?
Choose one answer.
The adjective comes from sacrilege, so the spelling is sacrilegious. The common error sacreligious copies the pattern of religious.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sacrilegious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.