blasphemy
/ˈblæs.fə.mi/ noun
Forms blasphemies
- noun An act of irreverence or contempt toward a god or toward something considered sacred; an impious act, utterance, view, etc. “That imam said that drawing the prophet Muhammad was a form of blasphemy.”
- noun (by extension) An act of irreverence towards anything considered inviolable; the act of disregarding a convention.
Synonyms
profanation desecration sacrilege violation cursing cussing execration imprecation profanity swearing
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English blasfemie, from Old French blasfemie, from Ecclesiastical Latin blasphēmia, from Ancient Greek βλασφημία (blasphēmía, “profanity”), from βλασφημέω (blasphēméō, “to slander”). Displaced native Old English tāl.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An indignity offered to God in words, writing, or signs; impiously irreverent words or signs addressed to, or used in reference to, God; speaking evil of God; also, the act of claiming the attributes or prerogatives of deity.
- noun Figuratively, of things held in high honor: Calumny; abuse; vilification.
Etymology [L. blasphemia, Gr. : cf. OF. blasphemie.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “blasphemy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details