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

The limbs and members of the slain Christ were made the vehicle of revolting profanation.

From Project Gutenberg

He gazed and then he did not gaze at all—it seemed like a profanation.

From Project Gutenberg

He looked upon married life, with all its hallowed beauty, as a profanation for a priest.

From Project Gutenberg

Have not many, who have ended their days on the scaffold, traced their ruin to the profanation of the Sabbath?

From Project Gutenberg

Rarely, if ever, has there been a more ghastly profanation of the Holy Sacrament of Regeneration!

From Project Gutenberg