sacrilegious

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.

(sak-ri-LIJ-uhs)

adjective
Violating what is considered sacred.

Etymology
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sacrilegium, from sacrilegus (one who steals sacred thing), from scar, from sacer (sacred) + -legere (to gather, steal)

The word has no etymological connection to "religious" though its pronunciation has altered due to its similarity with the latter. It comes from the same Indo-European root (sak- : to sanctify) as the words saint, consecrate, and sacred.

Usage
"A media buyer for a company whose clients include Volkswagen, Fidelity and McDonald's told the Journal: `I don't think you will see any of our clients advertising during the special 9/11 coverage on the TV networks.' Here you have companies -- some of them pillars of the economy -- saying, in effect, that there is something inherently vulgar about commerce, perhaps even sacrilegious." — Tunku Varadarajan, No Television Ads This 9/11?, The Wall Street Journal (New York), Jul 31, 2002.

"The chief executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, says the government believes in complete freedom of the press but it would not allow the publication of any derogatory and sacrilegious material. Condemning the publication of an outrageous and sacrilegious letter in an English language daily of Peshawar, he said stern action would be taken against those responsible. Firm action under the law has already been taken and offenders will be proceeded against strictly in accordance with the law." — Radio Pakistan (Islamabad), Jan 30, 2001.

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adjective

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

adj

Definition: profane
Antonyms: pious, respectful

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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.