Desecrate \Des"e*crate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desecrated; p.
pr. & vb. n. Desecrating.] [L. desecratus, p. p. of
desecrare (also desacrare) to consecrate, dedicate; but taken
in the sense if to divest of a sacred character; de- +
sacrare to consecrate, fr. sacer sacred. See Sacred.]
To divest of a sacred character or office; to divert from a
sacred purpose; to violate the sanctity of; to profane; to
put to an unworthy use; -- the opposite of consecrate.
[1913 Webster]
The [Russian] clergy can not suffer corporal punishment
without being previously desecrated. --W. Tooke.
[1913 Webster]
The founders of monasteries imprecated evil on those
who should desecrate their donations. --Salmon.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
desecrate
v 1: violate the sacred character of a place or language;
"desecrate a cemetary"; "violate the sanctity of the
church"; "profane the name of God" [syn: profane, outrage,
violate]
2: remove the consecration from a person or an object [syn: deconsecrate]
[ant: consecrate]
WordNet (r) 2.0
60 Moby Thesaurus words for "desecrate":
abuse, adulterate, alloy, befoul, canker, cheapen, coarsen,
commit sacrilege, confound, contaminate, convert, corrupt, debase,
debauch, defalcate, defile, deflower, degenerate, degrade,
denature, deprave, depredate, desolate, despoil, devalue,
devastate, devour, dishonor, distort, divert, embezzle, foul,
infect, maladminister, misapply, misappropriate, misemploy,
mishandle, mismanage, misuse, peculate, pervert, pilfer, pillage,
poison, pollute, profane, prostitute, ravage, ravish, sack,
spoliate, taint, twist, ulcerate, violate, vitiate, vulgarize,
warp, waste
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
deconsecrate, outrage, profane, violate
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