'Sacrilege' definitions:
Definition of 'sacrilege'
(from WordNet)
noun
Blasphemous behavior; the act of depriving something of its sacred character; "desecration of the Holy Sabbath" [syn: profanation, desecration, blasphemy, sacrilege]
Definition of 'Sacrilege'
From: GCIDE
- Sacrilege \Sac"ri*lege\, n. [F. sacril[`e]ge, L. sacrilegium, from sacrilegus that steals, properly, gathers or picks up, sacred things; sacer sacred + legere to gather, pick up. See Sacred, and Legend.] The sin or crime of violating or profaning sacred things; the alienating to laymen, or to common purposes, what has been appropriated or consecrated to religious persons or uses. [1913 Webster]
- And the hid treasures in her sacred tomb With sacrilege to dig. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
- Families raised upon the ruins of churches, and enriched with the spoils of sacrilege. --South. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'sacrilege'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- abomination,
- abuse,
- atrocity,
- befouling,
- befoulment,
- blasphemousness,
- blasphemy,
- contamination,
- crime,
- debasement,
- defilement,
- desecration,
- disgrace,
- dishonoring,
- disrespect,
- fouling,
- heresy,
- ignominy,
- impiety,
- impiousness,
- infamy,
- irreverence,
- maltreatment,
- misuse,
- offense,
- outrage,
- perversion,
- pity,
- profanation,
- profaneness,
- profanity,
- prostitution,
- sacrilegiousness,
- scandal,
- secularization,
- shame,
- sin,
- terrible thing,
- violation,
- vitiation