desecration

C2+ Topic:Religion & Belief

US /ˌdɛsɪˈkreɪʃən/ UK /ˌdɛsɪˈkreɪʃən/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the act of violating the sanctity of something sacred

The desecration of the graveyard outraged the village.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of violating the... profanation defilement violation sacrilege blasphemydishonoring

Opposites

consecrationsanctificationhallowing

Word family

Related forms desecrate consecrate sacred sacrilege

Etymology

From desecrate + -ion. Desecrate was coined from de- ('reverse of') + consecrate, ultimately from Latin sacer ('sacred').

de- Latin sacer Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Religion & Belief Word Formation & Derivatives

# desecration

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌdɛsɪˈkreɪʃən
**IPA (UK):** ˌdɛsɪˈkreɪʃən

## Meanings
1. the act of violating the sanctity of something sacred

## Examples
- The desecration of the graveyard outraged the village.

## Synonyms
- profanation
- defilement
- violation
- sacrilege
- blasphemy
- dishonoring

## Antonyms
- consecration
- sanctification
- hallowing

## Related Forms
- desecrate
- consecrate
- sacred
- sacrilege

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: de-
- Root: sacer

## Etymology
From desecrate + -ion. Desecrate was coined from de- ('reverse of') + consecrate, ultimately from Latin sacer ('sacred').

## AI Etymology
Desecration is from desecrate + -ion. Desecrate was coined from de- ('reverse of') + consecrate, ultimately from Latin sacer ('sacred'). The ancestry passes through Latin de- and Latin sacer. The prefix de- often marks removal, reversal, or downward motion in Latin formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure; the suffix -ion marks an action, process, or result, so the English form is shaped by recognizable word formation as well as by its inherited or borrowed base. In present use as a noun, it means "the act of violating the sanctity of something sacred", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include desecrate, consecrate, sacred, and sacrilege.

## Topics
- Religion & Belief
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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desecration

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