sacrilegious

(săk'rə-lĭj'əs, -lē'jəs)
adj.

1. Grossly irreverent toward what is or is held to be sacred.
2. Having committed sacrilege.

sacrilegiously sac'ri·le'gious·ly adv.
sacrilegiousness sac'ri·le'gious·ness n.

USAGE NOTE   Sacrilegious, the adjective form of sacrilege, is often misspelled through confusion with religious.

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meaning 'violating what is regarded as sacred', is formed from the noun sacrilege and is spelt with the first i and the e in the order shown, not (by confusion with religious) the other way round.

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adjective

Showing irreverence and contempt for something sacred: blasphemous, profane. See sacred/profane.

adj

Definition: profane
Antonyms: pious, respectful

IN BRIEF: Grossly irreverent toward what is held to be holy.

When you have been given something in a moment of grace, it is sacrilegious to be greedy. — Marian Anderson (1897-1993)

Tutor's tip: This was the final winning word in the 1942 National Spelling Bee.

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For a list of words related to sacrilegious, see:

• Troublesome, Negative, Irresponsible, or Unpleasant

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See words rhyming with "sacrilegious."