Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sacrilegious

/sæk.ɹəˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.43 in modern English

Syllables: sac-ri-le-gious
IPA: /sæk.ɹəˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/

15

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Committing sacrilege; acting or speaking very disrespectfully toward what is held to be sacred.

Example Sentences

"At one end of the room was spread a square carpet, and on it stood a table, on which were placed two most sacrilegious-looking wax-tapers: it is to be feared some poor sinner stayed longer in purgatory from the abduction of his offering."

Etymology

Compare sacrilege, Latin sacrilegus. From Latin sacer + legō (“steal something sacred”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: sacer

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /sæk.ɹəˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/
British English: /sæk.ɹəˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/

Inflected Forms

more sacrilegious (comparative) most sacrilegious (superlative)

Derived Forms

sacrilegiously sacrilegiousness sacrilicious unsacrilegious

Frequently Paired Words

sacrilege

Synonyms

blasphemous profane

Rhymes With

religious prestigious prodigious irreligious ethnoreligious egregious sortilegious regious

Questions

How do you pronounce sacrilegious?: The recorded pronunciation is /sæk.ɹəˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/.
What does sacrilegious mean?: Committing sacrilege; acting or speaking very disrespectfully toward what is held to be sacred.
Where does sacrilegious come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce sacrilegious

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sacrilegious”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/sæk.ɹəˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sacrilegious”.
Repeat and practice — Say “sacrilegious” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.