profanation

[ prof-uh-ney-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of profaning; desecration; defilement; debasement.

   Synonyms: blasphemy, sacrilege

Word History and Origins

Origin of profanation¹

First recorded in 1545–55; from Late Latin profānātiōn- (stem of profānātiō “desecration”), equivalent to Latin profānāt(us) (past participle of profānāre “to desecrate”) + -iōn- noun suffix; replacing prophanation, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin prophānātiō, for Late Latin profānātiō, as above; profane, -ion

Example Sentences

Police officers were sent to the Protestant Cemetery on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion to investigate the profanation.

From Seattle Times

“This is a profanation, an imitation of shooting, an imitation of exercises, an imitation of a formation,” Leshkov raged.

From Washington Post

It seems like a profanation of the word to write it in connection with such a monster, so asked him point-blank:—

From Literature

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco urged Catholics after the vote to “remember the eucharistic martyrs who died to protect the Most Blessed Sacrament from profanation.”

From New York Times

“The position of the Catholic Church on the right to life is unchanged; obscenities, violence and disrupting services as well as profanation are not the right method of action,” Gadecki said in a statement.

From Seattle Times