as in atheistical
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
irreverent behavior during church services
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Recent Examples of irreverent
The three books so far are deeply romantic, gorgeously tragic, smart as hell, and written in this absurd baroque, irreverent language.
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Constance Grady, Vox, 4 Nov. 2024
Yet he’s always had an audaciously irreverent flair for mixing up the experimental and the trashy, the futuristic and the old school.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2024
The video announcement is short and is precedent in an irreverent Deadpool-sort of way, where the camera is fixed on a men’s bathroom urinal with a couple of Deadpool and Wolverine urinal cakes.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Eschewing a typical opening segment filled with irreverent jokes and a rundown of the headlines the week prior, Oliver switched up the program’s rhythm by quickly transitioning to the show’s — not one, but two — topics at hand: mass deportation and a strange feature of the naturalization process.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for irreverent 
Constance Grady, Vox, 4 Nov. 2024
Yet he’s always had an audaciously irreverent flair for mixing up the experimental and the trashy, the futuristic and the old school.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2024
The video announcement is short and is precedent in an irreverent Deadpool-sort of way, where the camera is fixed on a men’s bathroom urinal with a couple of Deadpool and Wolverine urinal cakes.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Eschewing a typical opening segment filled with irreverent jokes and a rundown of the headlines the week prior, Oliver switched up the program’s rhythm by quickly transitioning to the show’s — not one, but two — topics at hand: mass deportation and a strange feature of the naturalization process.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for irreverent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreverent
Adjective
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Explore Hendersonville 13 of 18 Cary, North Carolina A testament to the city’s enthusiasm for the holidays, each year, Cary doubles its number of oversize ornaments—these decorations champion its diverse population, with nods to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and secular celebrations.Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 23 Nov. 2024
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Hals, too, painted the faces of a new secular élite that sought to flatter itself with the permanence of oil painting; Hals, too, caught the abundance as well as the wobbling precarity of his clients’ world, the sense that all this could tumble down tomorrow.Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Rushdie’s fourth fictional novel ran into a global controversy shortly after its publication in September 1988, as some Muslims saw passages about Prophet Muhammad as blasphemous.Reuters, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024
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Many Muslims consider depictions of prophets to be blasphemous.Reuters, CNN, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The cartoon images were deeply offensive to many Muslims, who viewed them as sacrilegious.David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
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Grills are about elemental things—wood, fire, meat—adding Wi-Fi to that seems almost sacrilegious.Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 13 Sep. 2020
Adjective
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This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
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Both narratives, private and public, differently restrict our access, so the ideal historian will need great tact and an impious curiosity.James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near irreverent
Cite this Entry
“Irreverent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreverent. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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