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desecration

noun

des·​e·​cra·​tion ˌde-si-ˈkrā-shən How to pronounce desecration (audio)
Synonyms of desecrationnext
: an act or instance of desecrating : the state of being desecrated

Examples of desecration in a Sentence

the communicants were aghast at the desecration of the altar
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
He was charged with dozens more counts of criminal mischief, burglary, intentional desecration of a venerated object and other crimes. Emma Caughlan, NBC news, 9 Jan. 2026 Gerlach has been charged with 26 counts of burglary and criminal trespassing, in addition to abuse of a corpse and desecration and theft or sale of venerated objects. Alexandra Simon, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026 These attempts to keep down the unquiet dead were, besides being desecrations, exercises in a lot of heavy and often forbidden labor done on decaying bodies. Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026 Officials charged Damon Leanord of Pleasanton, Kansas, with interference with law enforcement, having a vicious dog at large and criminal desecration of a body in Linn County and abandonment of a corpse charges in Bates County, Missouri, after finding the child’s body at the bottom of a creek bed. Sofi Zeman january 6, Kansas City Star, 6 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for desecration

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1717, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of desecration was circa 1717

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Desecration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desecration. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on desecration

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