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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Both girls were also charged with arson, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and desecration of human remains.—
Rachel Hale,
USA TODAY,
21 Jan. 2025
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Robbed of the event’s usual flair, the competitors instead put on a display of oafish masculinity, eating Combos on the ice and getting overly handsy with a female partner, among other desecrations of the sport.—
Dan Reilly,
Vulture,
30 July 2024
Noun
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Yet on October 11, the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) issued an opinion, non-binding but influential, that Ahok’s statement was indeed blasphemy.—
Sidney Jones,
Foreign Affairs,
26 May 2017
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But there is evidence that French society is shifting on the acceptance of blasphemy, particularly among France’s 5-million-strong Muslim population and the younger generation.—
Colette Davidson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Since this was a probation violation, Einstein was sent back to jail.—
Keith Sharon,
USA TODAY,
20 Feb. 2025
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The consequences for violations are not clearly spelled out, but the ban is broader and took effect sooner than the deadline under the California Phone-Free Schools Act.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 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
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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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The mayor has been under sharp scrutiny since President Trump’s Department Justice Department last week ordered prosecutors in his federal corruption case to drop the criminal charges against him.—
Chris Sommerfeldt,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2025
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Four senior deputies to New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced their resignations Monday after the Justice Department moved to dismiss his corruption case.—
Zach Halaschak,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
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There’s a naturally compelling story to be told: An untested but confident producer (Gabriel LaBelle stars as the young Lorne Michaels) feeling the pressure of a first show built on irreverence, at odds with a stodgy network accustomed to Johnny Carson’s after-hours royalty.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Sep. 2024
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His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence, and insatiable curiosity, send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Profanation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profanation. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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