View source for desecrate

==English==
{{was wotd|2008|January|5}}

===Etymology===
From {{m|en|de-}} + stem of {{m|en|consecrate}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{IPA|en|/ˈdɛs.ɪ.kɹeɪ̯t/|/ˈdɛs.ə.kɹeɪ̯t/}}
* {{audio|en|en-us-desecrate.ogg|a=US}}
* {{audio|en|en-au-desecrate.ogg|a=AU}}

===Verb===
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[profane]] or [[violate]] the [[sacredness]] or [[sanctity]] of something.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1916|author=James Whitcomb Riley|title=The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley|volume=10|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811201712/http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=%2Ftexts%2Fenglish%2Fmodeng%2Fpublicsearch%2Fmodengpub.o2w
|passage=It's reform -- reform! You're going to 'turn over a new leaf,' and all that, and sign the pledge, and quit cigars, and go to work, and pay your debts, and gravitate back into Sunday-school, where you can make love to the preacher's daughter under the guise of religion, and '''desecrate''' the sanctity of the innermost pale of the church by confessions at Class of your 'thorough conversion'!}}
#* {{quote-song|en|year=1984|author=[[w:Thomas Börje Forsberg|Quorthon]]|title=Necromansy|passage=Tonight nothing is too sacred, we '''desecrate''' and live in sin}}
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[remove]] the [[consecration]] from someone or something; to [[deconsecrate]].
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To change in an inappropriate and destructive manner.
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1913|author=William Alexander Lambeth; Warren H. Manning|title=Thomas Jefferson as an Architect and a Designer of Landscapes.|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811201712/http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=%2Ftexts%2Fenglish%2Fmodeng%2Fpublicsearch%2Fmodengpub.o2w
|passage=A subsequent owner has '''desecrated''' the main hall and robbed it of its grandeur by putting in a floor just beneath the circular windows in order to make an upper room over the hall.}}
#* {{RQ:Allingham China Governess|chapter=Foreword|passage=Everything a living animal could do to destroy and to '''desecrate''' bed and walls had been done. {{...}} A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.}}

====Synonyms====
* {{sense|profane or violate sacredness}} {{l|en|defile}}, {{l|en|unhallow}}; see also [[Thesaurus:desecrate]]
* {{sense|remove the consecration}} {{l|en|deconsecrate}}, {{l|en|desanctify}}
* {{sense|inappropriately change}} {{l|en|pervert}}

====Derived terms====
{{col-auto|en|undesecrate
|desecrated
|desecration
|desecrative
|desecrator
|desecrater
}}

====Translations====
{{trans-top|to profane or violate sacredness}}
* Armenian: {{t+|hy|պղծել|sc=Armn}}, {{t+|hy|սրբապղծել}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|оскверня́вам|impf|sc=Cyrl}}
* Catalan: {{t+|ca|profanar}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|褻瀆|tr=xièdú}}, {{t|cmn|污辱|tr=wūrǔ}}
* Danish: {{t|da|vanhellige}}
* Dutch: {{t+|nl|ontwijden}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|häpäistä}}
* French: {{t+|fr|profaner}}, {{t+|fr|désacraliser}}
* German: {{t+|de|entheiligen}}, {{t+|de|schänden}}, {{t+|de|entweihen}}
* Greek: {{t+|el|βεβηλώνω|sc=Grek}}
* Hebrew: {{t|he|חילל|tr=khilél|alt=חילל \ חִלֵּל|sc=Hebr}}
* Hungarian: {{t+|hu|megszentségtelenít}}
* Icelandic: {{t|is|vanhelga}}
* Igbo: {{t+|ig|mebie}}
* Irish: {{t|ga|truailligh}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|profanare}}, {{t+|it|dissacrare}}
* Japanese: {{t+|ja|冒涜|tr=ぼうとくする, bōtoku suru|alt=冒涜する|sc=Jpan}}, {{t+|ja|冒す|tr=おかす, okasu|sc=Jpan}}, {{t|ja|[[神聖]]を[[汚す]]|sc=Jpan}}
* Korean: {{t+|ko|훼손하다}}, {{t|ko|더럽히다}}
* Macedonian: {{t|mk|оскр́нави|sc=Cyrl}}
* Maori: {{t|mi|whakapoke}}, {{t|mi|hāparu}}
* Middle English: {{t|enm|polluten}}
* Norwegian:
*: Bokmål: {{t|nb|vanhellige}}, {{t|nb|skjende}}
*: Nynorsk: {{t|nn|vanhelge}}
* Polish: {{t+|pl|bezcześcić|impf}}, {{t+|pl|zbezcześcić|pf}}, {{t+|pl|profanować|impf}}, {{t+|pl|sprofanować|pf}}
* Portuguese: {{t+|pt|profanar}}
* Romanian: {{t+|ro|profana}}, {{t+|ro|pângări}}, {{t+|ro|spurca}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|оскверня́ть|impf}}, {{t+|ru|оскверни́ть|pf}}, {{t+|ru|надруга́ться|impf}}
* Scottish Gaelic: {{t|gd|mì-choisrig}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|profanar}}, {{qualifier|rare}} {{t|es|desecrar}}
* Swahili: {{t|sw|najisi|alt=-najisi}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|skända}}, {{t+|sv|vanhelga}}
* Yiddish: {{t|yi|מחלל זײַן|tr=mekhalel zayn}}, {{t|yi|שענדן}}, {{t|yi|פֿאַרשוועכן}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|to remove the consecration}}
* French: {{t|fr|désécrer}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|sconsacrare}}
* Maori: {{t|mi|hāparu}}, {{t|mi|whakanoa}}
* Norwegian:
*: Bokmål: {{t+|nb|krenke}}, {{t|nb|nedverdige}}, {{t|nb|vanhellige}}, {{t+|nb|vanære}}
*: Nynorsk: {{t|nn|krenkje}}, {{t|nn|nedverdige}}, {{t|nn|vanhelge}}, {{t|nn|vanære}}
* Polish: {{t|pl|zeświecczyć|pf}}
* Portuguese: {{t|pt|desconsagrar}}, {{t+|pt|profanar}}
* Romanian: {{t+|ro|desacraliza}}
* Scottish Gaelic: {{t|gd|mì-choisrig}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|to inappropriately change}}
* French: {{t+|fr|désacraliser}}, {{t+|fr|profaner}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|dissacrare}}
* Norwegian:
*: Bokmål: {{t+|nb|krenke}}
*: Nynorsk: {{t|nn|krenkje}}
* Polish: {{t|pl|zeszpecić|pf}}
* Romanian: {{t+|ro|profana}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{checktrans-top}}
* Latin: {{t-check|la|desecrare}}
{{trans-bottom}}

===Adjective===
{{en-adj}}

# {{lb|en|rare}} [[desecrated|Desecrated]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1842|author=w:Edgar Allan Poe|title=The Myster of Marie Rogêt
|passage=Here are the very nooks where the unwashed most abound—here are the temples most '''desecrate'''.}}

===Anagrams===
* {{anagrams|en|a=acdeeerst|decastere}}