impiety

noun

(ˌ)im-ˈpī-ə-tē How to pronounce impiety (audio)
Definition of impietynext
as in blasphemy
an act of great disrespect shown to God or to sacred ideas, people, or things the unspeakable impiety of spitting in a church

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impiety 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impiety
  1. blasphemy
  2. sacrilege
  3. violation
  4. corruption
  5. desecration
  6. cursing
  7. profanation
  8. irreverence
Noun
  • Or a plot to divert attention from Murphy’s blasphemy of her famously lucky number 13?
    — Isabella Albaig, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
  • That might have sounded like blasphemy just half a decade ago, but college football is always evolving, and Swinney is a man stuck in time.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of blasphemy
Noun
  • Advertisement To the Eagle Family, these scenes were sacrilege.
    — Abdelrahman ElGendy, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
  • While this might seem like capitalist sacrilege, Gearin says there’s historical precedent for Indigenous peoples using plant medicine as a tool to navigate the practical demands of the world.
    — Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of sacrilege
Noun
  • And unlike state authorities who can be sued for civil rights violations in state courts, federal law enforcement authorities are generally shielded from such lawsuits based on legal precedents.
    — Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Chicago should provide workable loading zones, preserve first-offense warnings, and publicly report whether violations and crashes actually decline.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of violation
Noun
  • Talarico’s success so far can partly be chalked up to voters’ apprehensions toward Paxton, who faced questions in his past over corruption, including being impeached by his own party in the Texas legislature.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Blagojevich was impeached, removed from office by a unanimous 59-0 Illinois Senate vote and convicted of federal corruption offenses.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of corruption
Noun
  • The gang steals sacred objects, but their movements around them can resemble ceremony not desecration.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 24 Sep. 2026
  • These are two examples of politicians' truths among a plethora of others that are really lies, distortions, deceptions and desecrations of the citizens' trust in them.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of desecration
Noun
  • Seeman was caught on camera cursing at McBride during the Cardinals’ loss at the New York Giants.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Paxton had argued that the law-school clinic was not a classroom but a workplace, and that Fisher was punished not for expressing political views but because her cursing and volume had disrupted clinic business.
    — Benjamin Wofford, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of cursing
Noun
  • Scottish hen parties were deemed to contain ritualistic profanation.
    — Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 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
Definition of profanation
Noun
  • The prime minister has feebly tried to make his own reels in response, but that failed to stem the tide of public irreverence.
    — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
  • But the bold irreverence that drew droves of devoted readers to Jezebel brought contention, too.
    — Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of irreverence

Browse Nearby Words

impieties
impiety
impinge
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Cite this Entry

“Impiety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impiety. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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