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
Scottish hen parties were deemed to contain ritualistic profanation.
—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
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
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profanation
Noun
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And still, Wankdorf Stadium heaved with Portuguese song, as if any other noise outside of a goal celebration might border on sacrilege.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
4 July 2025
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But replacing barley malt with rice still might strike some beer aficionados as sacrilege.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 July 2025
Noun
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Heidi Dutton, 19, entered a guilty plea in May to two counts of first-degree-murder, conspiracy, and two counts of desecration of a human corpse in the deaths of Deborah and Larry Dutton, who were her biological grandparents and adoptive parents.—
Chris Spargo,
People.com,
11 June 2025
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The Titanic isn't just a shipwreck — it’s widely regarded as a maritime grave, and some view any disturbance as a form of desecration.—
Jordan Runtagh,
People.com,
6 July 2025
Noun
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Read more Religious freedom School Vouchers Are a Big, Fat Tax Break for the Wealthy | Opinion Walker is now tasked with confronting China's church crackdowns, Pakistan's blasphemy laws, and Nigeria's ruthless slaughter of believers.—
Kevin Sabet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
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Many religious people who are not fluent in Italian who laughed at the meme or even repeated the words felt that they were tricked into blasphemy.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
29 May 2025
Noun
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The flimsy pretense for the raid was that some NABU officers had been involved in traffic accidents and violations.—
Steve Cortes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 July 2025
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When an agent malfunctions in a production environment, the potential consequences include operational disruptions, security breaches, compliance violations and reputational damage.—
Olga Megorskaya,
Forbes.com,
25 July 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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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
Noun
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Check if the customer database can be fully restored within a 24-hour recovery time after simulated data corruption.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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In his nightly video address Tuesday, Zelenskyy justified the move by saying corruption cases took too long to be investigated under the agencies.—
Joanna Kakissis,
NPR,
23 July 2025
Noun
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Marking the two’s first partnership and imbuing the irreverence of both brands, the range features ten pieces of jewels and five pieces of resort wear with an oceanic theme — designed to be worn with tousled beach waves and sand between your toes.—
Angela Lei,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
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A lot of welcome Hotel Art Thief motifs recur here — an amazing old guy, a fake podcast recording session, POV gun violence (thanks to a cop body cam), and a plotline pulling all the irreverence together — subtly seeded throughout the series and ultimately leading to violence.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Profanation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profanation. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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