blasphemy

[ blas-fuh-mee ]

noun

, plural blas·phe·mies.

1. impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.

   Synonyms: impiety, sacrilege, profanity

2. Judaism.
   1. an act of cursing or reviling God.
   2. pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) in the original, now forbidden manner instead of using a substitute pronunciation such as Adonai.
3. Theology. the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.
4. irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc.:

   He uttered blasphemies against life itself.

blasphemy

/ ˈblæsfɪmɪ /

noun

1. blasphemous behaviour or language
2. Also calledblasphemous libel law the crime committed if a person insults, offends, or vilifies the deity, Christ, or the Christian religion

Other Words From

• non·blasphe·my noun plural nonblasphemies

Word History and Origins

Origin of blasphemy¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English blasphemie, from Late Latin blasphēmia, from Greek, equivalent to blasphem(ous) + -y ³

Example Sentences

In that climate, publicly denouncing a man for blasphemy was tantamount to designating a terrorist target, prosecutors will argue.

From BBC

Blasphemy accusations are common in Pakistan and under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death.

From Seattle Times

Like many Western countries, Sweden doesn’t have any blasphemy laws.

From Seattle Times

Which countries still have blasphemy laws?

From BBC

On Monday, Donald Trump, who has repeatedly and publicly proclaimed that he is a “Christian”, committed blasphemy by appearing to suggest that his being held accountable by the law for his many obvious crimes is somehow equivalent to the persecution of Jesus Christ and what the latter suffered in the Easter resurrection myth.

From Salon

Related Words

• desecration
• heresy