rhizoverbBeta
DictionarysacrilegiousDisrespectful toward the sacred
adjective

sacrilegious

sak-ruh-LIJ-uhs/ˌsækrəˈlɪdʒəs/

Showing disrespect toward something sacred or deeply revered.

Planting a muddy shoe on the altar’s crucifix is a sacrilegious act.

A casually dressed visitor deliberately plants his dirty shoe on a crucifix lying on a church altar, visibly treating a sacred object with contempt.
Etymology
sacriLatinsacred object
+legLatintake, pick up
+iousLatincharacterized by

The roots evoke taking sacred objects, the original offense called sacrilege. The adjective first described someone guilty of sacrilege, then extended to conduct that profanes or disrespects the sacred.

In context

TAN Books32:15
he was in prison and he led all the chickens out of the cages because they were training for fights and he said this is blasphemy you know this is sacrilegious
La Cristiada (The Cristeros) w/ Fr Daniel Heenan, FSSP

More examples

  • His sacrilegious joke offends members of the congregation.
  • The novel explores a conflict over a supposedly sacrilegious painting.
  • She describes the deliberate destruction of the holy text as sacrilegious.

Forms

sacrilegious

sacrilege noun — disrespectful treatment of something sacred

Similar words

irreverent
Irreverent shows insufficient respect; sacrilegious specifically violates something sacred.
profane
Profane can mean disrespectful of sacred things; sacrilegious particularly evokes violation or desecration.