sacrilegious

sac·ri·le·gious

[sak-ruh-lij-uhs, -lee-juhs]
adjective
1.
pertaining to or involving sacrilege: sacrilegious practices.
2.
guilty of sacrilege: a sacrilegious person.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English sacrilegiose; see sacrilege, -ous

sac·ri·le·gious·ly, adverb
sac·ri·le·gious·ness, noun
non·sac·ri·le·gious, adjective
non·sac·ri·le·gious·ly, adverb
non·sac·ri·le·gious·ness, noun
pseu·do·sac·ri·le·gious, adjective
pseu·do·sac·ri·le·gious·ly, adverb
un·sac·ri·le·gious, adjective
un·sac·ri·le·gious·ly, adverb
un·sac·ri·le·gious·ness, noun

1. irreligious, sacrilegious, unreligious ; 2. religious, sacrilegious, sacrosanct.


The almost universal pronunciation of sacrilegious as [sak-ruh-lij-uhs] is the result of folk etymology—modifying the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word so that it conforms to a more familiar one—in this case religious. Etymologically, sacrilegious has no direct relationship to religious. The historical pronunciation [sak-ruh-lee-juhs] occurs in American English, though not in British English, and criticism of the newer pronunciation has almost disappeared.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Sacrilegious is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Collins
World English Dictionary
sacrilegious (ˌsækrɪˈlɪdʒəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  of, relating to, or involving sacrilege; impious
2.  guilty of sacrilege
 
sacri'legiously
 
adv
 
sacri'legiousness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sacrilegious
1580s, from L. sacrilegiosum, from L. sacrilegium (see sacrilege).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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