Dictionary

blasphemy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈblæs.fə.mi/
• (Canada) audio

Etymology

From Middle English blasfemie, from Old French blasfemie, from Ecclesiastical Latin blasphēmia, from Ancient Greek βλασφημία (blasphēmía, “profanity”), from βλασφημέω (blasphēméō, “to slander”). Displaced native Old English tāl.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) An act of irreverence or contempt toward a god or toward something considered sacred; an impious act, utterance, view, etc.
   • That imam said that drawing the prophet Muhammad was a form of blasphemy.
   • The fundamentalists in that religion hold that such views are blasphemy and that religion is above criticism. 2009, Francis, Business Ethics, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, →ISBN, page 139:
   • Had God cancelled His everlasting Covenant with Israel? The mere thought was blasphemy! But what did God's silence and the present dark cloud mean? 1920, John Rougier Cohu, The Bible and Modern Thought, page 325:
   • Shepard: What happened to those other Alliance officers? The ones who came before me? Major Kyle: They wanted to take me away from here! They wanted me to abandon this place. Turn my back on my family. They spoke blasphemy! Major Kyle: I did what I could to make their end quick and painless. I had no other choice. It was necessary to protect my children. Only I can keep them safe. 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Presrop:
   • Look, I don't think it ought to be blasphemy, just saying "Jehovah". 1979, Monty Python's Life of Brian, spoken by Matthias (John Young):
2. (broadly, countable, uncountable) An act of irreverence towards anything considered inviolable; the act of disregarding a convention.
   • The market has responded well to this type of packaging [wine in cardboard containers], even if some consider it near blasphemy, and it has had a role in bringing wine to the younger generation and to social classes intimidated by the high price of many bottled products. 2004, Touring Club of Italy, The Italian Wine Guide: The Definitive Guide to Touring, Sourcing and Tasting, Touring Editore, →ISBN, page 149:
   • I know this is utter blasphemy and completely incomprehensible to developers and power users who love their keyboard shortcuts, but some people just love having buttons on their screens with the exact name of their function written on them. 2015, Benjamin V. Root, Interactive Applications Using Matplotlib, Packt Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 89:
   • Some historical information is given on the Panormo family of guitar makers and a whole chapter is called, "Maccaferri's 'Monstrosity'," the name given Julian's Maccaferri guitar due to the blasphemy of its having more than six strings, […] 1999, American Lutherie: The Quarterly Journal of the Guild of American Luthiers:

Forms

Antonyms

adoration · reverence · worship · veneration

Deriveds

blasphemously · antiblasphemy · blasphemous · blasphemousness · blasphemist

Relateds

blaspheme

Synonyms

sacrilege · desecration · swearing · sacrilege · desecration · execration · imprecation · violation · profanation · cursing · cussing · profanity · profanation · blasphemy

Translations (100)

vi sự báng bổ tôn giáo (irreverence toward something sacred) · mk богохулие (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd eacnach (irreverence toward something sacred) · ota كفر (irreverence toward something sacred) · gl blasfemia (irreverence toward something sacred) · sh богохулство (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd naomh-mhallachadh (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd speuradh (irreverence toward something sacred) · is guðlast (irreverence toward something sacred) · sh богохуљење (irreverence toward something sacred) · da blasfemi (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd naomh-aithris (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd toibheum (irreverence toward something sacred) · sh blasfemija (irreverence toward something sacred) · hi ईशनिंदा (irreverence toward something sacred) · th การดูหมิ่นศาสนา (irreverence toward something sacred) · grc βλασφημία (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd grìosadaireachd (irreverence toward something sacred) · no blasfemi (irreverence toward something sacred) · bg богоху́лство (irreverence toward something sacred) · uk богоху́льство (irreverence toward something sacred) · ro blasfemie (irreverence toward something sacred) · de Gotteslästerung (irreverence toward something sacred) · ru кощу́нство (irreverence toward something sacred) · pt blasfémia (irreverence toward something sacred) · tl kalapastanganan (irreverence toward something sacred) · mk богохулство (irreverence toward something sacred) · pl bluźnierstwo (irreverence toward something sacred) · tr küfür (irreverence toward something sacred) · enm blasfemie (irreverence toward something sacred) · hi धर्मनिंदा (irreverence toward something sacred) · ca blasfèmia (irreverence toward something sacred) · cmn 褻瀆 /亵渎 (irreverence toward something sacred) · ja 冒涜 (irreverence toward something sacred) · fi jumalanpilkka (irreverence toward something sacred) · uk блюзні́рство (irreverence toward something sacred) · sh bogohuljenje (irreverence toward something sacred) · pl blasfemia (irreverence toward something sacred) · sv hädelse (irreverence toward something sacred) · sw kufuru (irreverence toward something sacred) · kk асылық (irreverence toward something sacred) · de Blasphemie (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd dia-aitheas (irreverence toward something sacred) · ja 不敬 (irreverence toward something sacred) · be блюзьне́рства (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd baoth-bhriathar (irreverence toward something sacred) · ru богоху́льство (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd lùghadh (irreverence toward something sacred) · cy cabledd (irreverence toward something sacred) · nl blasfemie (irreverence toward something sacred) · fa کفرگویی (irreverence toward something sacred) · got 𐌽𐌰𐌹𐍄𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (irreverence toward something sacred) · eo blasfemo (irreverence toward something sacred) · cs rouhání (irreverence toward something sacred) · tr kutsaltanımazlık (irreverence toward something sacred) · sh bogohulstvo (irreverence toward something sacred) · yue 褻瀆 /亵渎 (irreverence toward something sacred) · pl świętokradztwo (irreverence toward something sacred) · ga blaisféim (irreverence toward something sacred) · id hujatan (irreverence toward something sacred) · hi ईश्वरनिंदा (irreverence toward something sacred) · pt blasfêmia (irreverence toward something sacred) · sv blasfemi (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd dia-bheum (irreverence toward something sacred) · hy սրբապղծություն (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd naomh-mhallachd (irreverence toward something sacred) · gv ard-vollaght (irreverence toward something sacred) · ka მკრეხელობა (irreverence toward something sacred) · he חילול השם (irreverence toward something sacred) · cu власвимиꙗ (irreverence toward something sacred) · sh бласфемија (irreverence toward something sacred) · it bestemmia (irreverence toward something sacred) · tl blaspemya (irreverence toward something sacred) · az küfr (irreverence toward something sacred) · pl profanacja (irreverence toward something sacred) · ga diamhasla (irreverence toward something sacred) · be багаху́льства (irreverence toward something sacred) · el βλασφημία (irreverence toward something sacred) · ga dia-aithis (irreverence toward something sacred) · enm blasfemynge (irreverence toward something sacred) · es blasfemia (irreverence toward something sacred) · ar تَجْدِيف (irreverence toward something sacred) · hi देवनिंदा (irreverence toward something sacred) · tr hürmetsizlik (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd dia-mhaslachadh (irreverence toward something sacred) · ur توہینِ رسالت (irreverence toward something sacred) · ga naomhaithis (irreverence toward something sacred) · got 𐍅𐌰𐌾𐌰𐌼𐌴𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd lughadaireachd (irreverence toward something sacred) · fr blasphème (irreverence toward something sacred) · fi rienaus (irreverence toward something sacred) · nl godslastering (irreverence toward something sacred) · hi कुफ़्र (irreverence toward something sacred) · ceb pasipala (irreverence toward something sacred) · la blasphēmia (irreverence toward something sacred) · it blasfemia (irreverence toward something sacred) · gd ana-cainnt (irreverence toward something sacred) · tr dine hakaret (irreverence toward something sacred) · non goðgá (irreverence toward something sacred) · hu istenkáromlás (irreverence toward something sacred)