PROFANATION Synonyms: 26 Similar and Opposite Words

profanation

noun

ˌprä-fə-ˈnā-shən

Definition of profanation

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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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 profanation 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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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profanation

profanations

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

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Synonyms of profanation

noun

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