desecrating
Defiling sacred ground
Desecrating is treating something sacred or highly respected with violent disrespect.
Churches are desecrated by vandalism, graves by disturbance, flags by burning.
The word implies not just damage but profanation—a deliberate violation of what others hold holy: Protesters were arrested for desecrating the memorial.
See desecrate.
Irreverence toward the sacred
- defilingCorrupting purity or sanctity
- violatingInfringing upon established rules
- unholyWicked, impious, sinful
- tabernaclePortable sacred dwelling
altar · shrine · temple · mosque · church · synagogue · holy · ritual
Willfully destroying property
- defacingSpoiling an appearance
- gravesBurial sites
- tombstonesMemorial stones over graves
- cemeteryPlace for interring remains
monument · cenotaph · memorial · headstones · mausoleum · crypt · urn · ashes
Destroying body parts violently
- corpseDeceased human body
- remainsContinues in place
- bodyPhysical structure, living thing
- dismemberingCutting off limbs
exhuming · disinterring · cadaver · deceased · dignity · funeral · morgue · autopsy
Forcible taking of goods
- lootingTheft during disorder
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- ancestralOf one's forebears
indigenous · burial grounds · petroglyphs · totem · dreamtime · ruins · archaeological · repatriation
blasphemy
Irreverence toward the sacred
- defilingCorrupting purity or sanctity
- violatingInfringing upon established rules
- unholyWicked, impious, sinful
tabernacle · altar · shrine · temple · mosque · church · synagogue · holy · ritual · sanctuary
vandalizing
Willfully destroying property
- defacingSpoiling an appearance
- gravesBurial sites
- tombstonesMemorial stones over graves
cemetery · monument · cenotaph · memorial · headstones · mausoleum · crypt · urn · ashes · remains
mutilating
Destroying body parts violently
dismembering · exhuming · disinterring · cadaver · deceased · dignity · funeral · morgue · autopsy · embalming
plundering
Forcible taking of goods
ancestral · indigenous · burial grounds · petroglyphs · totem · dreamtime · ruins · archaeological · repatriation · colonialism
- vandalismvandalism, defacement, tagging, defacing, graffiti tags
- destructiondestruction, destroying, demolishing, devastation, ruination
- shamingshaming, humiliating, disgracing, dishonoring, degrading
- misusingabusing, mishandling, misapplying, misappropriating, misallocating
desecratingconsecrating
Making officially holy
sanctifying · blessing · hallowing · dedicating · anointing
desecratinghonoring
Recognizing with respect
venerating · revering · respecting · preserving · cherishing
- grave desecrationDamaging or dishonoring tombs