Sacrilege

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: sac=ri=lege

CIDE DICTIONARY

Sacrilege, n. [F. sacrilège, 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."  [1913 Webster]
"Families raised upon the ruins of churches, and enriched with the spoils of sacrilege."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Sacrilege, n. the violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred.

Derivative

sacrilegious adj. sacrilegiously adv.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. L sacrilegium f. sacrilegus stealer of sacred things, f. sacer sacri sacred + legere take possession of

THESAURUS

Sacrilege

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

ROGET THESAURUS

Sacrilege

Impiety

N impiety, sin, irreverence, profaneness, profanity, profanation, blasphemy, desecration, sacrilege, scoffing, hypocrisy, pietism, cant, pious fraud, lip devotion, lip service, lip reverence, misdevotion, formalism, austerity, sanctimony, sanctimoniousness, pharisaism, precisianism, sabbatism, sabbatarianism, odium theologicum, sacerdotalism, bigotry blue laws, hardening, backsliding, declension, perversion, reprobation, sinner, scoffer, blasphemer, sacrilegist, sabbath breaker, worldling, hypocrite, Tartufe, Mawworm, bigot, saint, Pharisee, sabbatarian, formalist, methodist, puritan, pietist, precisian, religionist, devotee, ranter, fanatic, juramentado, the wicked, the evil, the unjust, the reprobate, sons of men, sons of Belial, the wicked one, children of darkness, impious, irreligious, desecrating, profane, irreverent, sacrilegious, blasphemous, un-hallowed, un-sanctified, un-regenerate, hardened, perverted, reprobate, hypocritical, canting, pietistical, sanctimonious, unctuous, pharisaical, overrighteous, righteous over much, bigoted, fanatical, priest-ridden, under the mask of religion, under the cloak of religion, under the pretense of religion, under the form of religion, under the guise of religion, giovane santo diavolo vecchio.