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verb (used with object), -crat·ed, -crat·ing.
1.
to divest of sacred or hallowed character or office.
2.
to divert from a sacred to a profane use or purpose.
3.
to treat with sacrilege; profane.
Related forms
des·e·crat·er, des·e·cra·tor, noun
des·e·cra·tion, noun
non·des·e·cra·tion, noun
un·des·e·crat·ed, adjective
Synonyms
3. defile, violate, dishonor, pollute, outrage.
3. defile, violate, dishonor, pollute, outrage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Desecrate
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
Example Sentences
- He wonders whether the people will honor or desecrate his corpse after he dies.
- Area tribes have said the project would desecrate submerged ancestral burial sites.
- Hawking trinkets is not the only way to desecrate a sacred site.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
desecrate
1674, formed from de- "do the opposite of" + (con)secrate. O.Fr. had dessacrer "to profane," and there is a similar formation in It.; but L. desecrare meant "to make holy," with de- in this case having a completive sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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