sacrilege
noun
[ ˈsakrɪlɪdʒ ]
• violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred.
• "putting ecclesiastical vestments to secular use was considered sacrilege"
Similar:
desecration,
profanity,
profaneness,
profanation,
blasphemy,
impiety,
impiousness,
sin,
irreverence,
irreligion,
irreligiousness,
godlessness,
unholiness,
disrespect,
Opposite:
piety,
respectfulness,
Origin:
Middle English: via Old French from Latin sacrilegium, from sacrilegus ‘stealer of sacred things’, from sacer, sacr- ‘sacred’ + legere ‘take possession of’.
