ˌpräfəˈnāshən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French prophanation, profanation, from Late Latin profanation-, profanatio, from Latin profanatus (past participle of profanare to profane) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at profane
1. : an act of profaning : an act of violating sacred things or of treating them with contempt or irreverence : irreverent or too familiar treatment or use of what is sacred
2. : debasement or vulgarization especially by misuse or disclosure
music may be contemplated … happily free from all danger of profanation — C.C.Riker
Synonyms:
desecration , sacrilege , blasphemy : profanation applies to any irreverent outrage shocking to those who cherish and hold sacred the thing treated; although it may suggest base callousness, it often applies to vulgar, insensible irreverence as of vandals
these sages attribute the calamity to a profanation of the sacred grove — J.G.Frazer
: desecration may apply to any action whereby sacred character is impaired or lost; often it indicates loss of that character through defilement, often malicious or malign and culpable
desecration of the cathedrals by the invading barbarians
the last priest, feeling there was no work to be done in such a dreary outpost, burned the chapel in 1706 to prevent its desecration — American Guide Series: Michigan
sacrilege may refer technically to reception or administration of a religious sacrament by one unworthy; it refers commonly to any outrageous profanation
the execution was not followed by any sacrilege to the church or defiling of holy vessels — Willa Cather
above all things they dread any contact with the spirits of the dead. Only a sorcerer would dare to commit such a sacrilege, an offense punishable with death — J.G.Frazer
blasphemy may refer to any strong irreverence, often one involving or suggesting reviling, defying, mocking, or otherwise treating with indignity something sacred
he cooperated with me in sending the pious elders to unspeakable corners of hell; we arranged a wordless language of blasphemy and signaled to each other across the laps of the godly — G.W.Brace