as in sacrilege
an act of great disrespect shown to God or to sacred ideas, people, or things
the First Book of the Maccabees tells of the profanation of the temple of Jerusalem by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167 b.c.
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Recent Examples of profanation
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; ’Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love.
—
John Edgar Wideman, The New Yorker, 8 July 2021
The first assault is on the Nile itself, which is turned to blood, thereby ruining both agriculture and aquaculture in one swoop, a profanation with religious consequences.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 28 Nov. 2019
His family has argued that the exhumation would amount to profanation of a burial site, and said the only alternative resting place for Franco should be inside the crypt of the Madrid cathedral, a suggestion that the government found unacceptable.
—Raphael Minder, New York Times, 4 June 2019
John Edgar Wideman, The New Yorker, 8 July 2021
The first assault is on the Nile itself, which is turned to blood, thereby ruining both agriculture and aquaculture in one swoop, a profanation with religious consequences.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 28 Nov. 2019
His family has argued that the exhumation would amount to profanation of a burial site, and said the only alternative resting place for Franco should be inside the crypt of the Madrid cathedral, a suggestion that the government found unacceptable.
—Raphael Minder, New York Times, 4 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profanation
Noun
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Such a transformation would represent an irrevocable loss: a profound sacrilege not only to the city’s rich history but also to the cultural legacy for the future generations.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
23 Feb. 2025
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For many liberals and radicals, beginning with Lord Byron, Elgin was a vandal who had committed sacrilege.—
Ralph Leonard,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Simply put, their acts are a desecration of the pursuit of knowledge.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
18 Mar. 2025
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To Michael Hirsch, the desecration of hundreds of graves was a shanda, a shame, a ghoulish crime.—
Maria Cramer,
New York Times,
16 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Here, the government is forbidden from engaging in viewpoint discrimination, banned from imposing blasphemy restrictions, and prohibited from banning undesirable political parties.—
The Editors,
National Review,
18 Feb. 2025
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These ranged from a high-scale corruption case to allegations of blasphemy and terrorism, all of which Khan and his supporters vehemently rejected.—
Tom O'Connor,
Newsweek,
27 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
His attorneys and family have rejected the government’s claims, calling his detention unjust and a violation of due process.—
Hanna Park,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2025
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That came after Twins pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson was given a pitch-clock violation that led to a walk for the Royals’ Jonathan India.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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By one hand, he is bound to himself, to his impiety, his recklessness, his envy and pride, his guilt and spite.—
Merve Emre,
The New Yorker,
16 Dec. 2024
-
Clouzot supplied that insight in strong visual terms: Fresnay’s conflicting impiety and righteous anger and so much dissatisfaction and panic among the townsfolk.—
Armond White,
National Review,
20 Nov. 2024
Noun
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In short, the Chicago area has a history of red-light camera corruption.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2025
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Confidential finds a powerful political lobbyist shot to death, his apparent suicide highlighting a bizarre turn in Ohio’s largest public corruption case accidentaly uncovered by federal investigators that was nearly concealed by loose super PAC campaign financing rules.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Very carefully, unless your boss is Graydon Carter, whose gift for irreverence and self-deprecation is almost as legendary as his hair.—
Jim Kelly,
Air Mail,
29 Mar. 2025
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The film’s a strange but potent mix of irreverence and patriotism.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Profanation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profanation. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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