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Glite Dictionary
desecration

desecration

19 8.9
An action that shows violent disrespect to a holy place or object
  • noun
  • /ˌdɛsɪˈkreɪʃən/
: profanación
  • The community rallied together to protest against the desecration of the historic church during the renovations.
  • desecration of sacred
  • religious desecration
  • desecration and destruction

You know it, it feels like a desecration.

Examples

  • The inverse of sacredness is desecration, and the impact of seeing a sacred place desecrated can be frightful.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The desecration of his temple angers Apollo.

    Troy (2004)

  • We shall have no desecration of the Lord's Day.

    Wesley (2009)

  • You see, it would be a desecration to bring it into the house before you bless it.

    Blood Feast (1963)

  • The desecration of the sacred corpse.

    Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

  • All of this desecration in the church... ... do you think this has anything to do with witchcraft?

    The Exorcist (1973)

  • Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn the desecration of a great American symbol.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Some people have complained that it was a desecration to put a resort in the middle of a Mayan city.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Consequently, many Ojibway view the commercial exploitation of this resource by non-Indians as the ultimate desecration.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Following O'Brien, the Supreme Court held that a number of statutes prohibiting flag desecration violated the First Amendment's free-speech guarantee.

    Academic text (2017)

Synonyms

blasphemy
vsdesecration
44 8.4

An act that shows strong disrespect for God or for things a religion calls holy

is a physical violent act targeting holy places rather than speech
sacrilege
vsdesecration
15 9.3

An action that shows disrespect to something holy

is more violent and strips places or objects of sacred character
defilement
vsdesecration
4 9.1

A place made dirty or impure by harmful substances

is intentional disrespect that strips sacred status rather than mere impurity
profanation
vsdesecration
1 9.4

An act of treating something sacred with disrespect

is narrower, focusing on holy places or objects rather than any respected thing
unsanctification
vsdesecration
  • Formal
9.9

The act of making something not holy

is an act of violent disrespect that causes the loss of sanctity

Antonyms

sanctification
  • Formal
5 9.7

A religious ceremony that makes something holy for use in worship

How Disrespectful

desecration
19 8.9
defilement
4 9.1
vandalism
57 4.1
disrespect
129 3.4
offense
  • US
365 3.9

Surface Forms

desecration singular
desecrations plural

Morphology

desecration = desecrate (semi-transparent) = de + secr + ate + ion

The noun is a standard and easily recognizable formation from the verb 'desecrate' with the suffix '-ion'.

Etymology

The word desecration is built from the part de- meaning 'remove' and the word sacred, which comes from Latin sacer meaning 'holy'. So desecration is the act of taking away a place's or object's sacred character, or of treating something holy with serious disrespect.