sacrilegious

Pronunciation note:
The almost universal pronunciation of sacrilegious as /ˌsækrəˈlɪdʒəs/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [sak-ruh-lij-uhs] Show IPA 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 /ˌsækrəˈlidʒəs/[sak-ruh-lee-juhs] occurs in American English, though not in British English, and criticism of the newer pronunciation has almost disappeared.