MEANING
To damage or treat something held sacred or deeply revered with serious disrespect.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- desecrate a grave
- desecrate a shrine
On the page
Someone had desecrated the grave.
The villagers feared the shrine would be desecrated.
The account condemned the attempt to desecrate the memorial.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- desecrate
- Past tense
- desecrated
- Past participle
- desecrated
- Present participle
- desecrating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- desecrate
- Present continuous
- am/is/are desecrating
- Present perfect
- have/has desecrated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been desecrating
- Past
- desecrated
- Past continuous
- was/were desecrating
- Past perfect
- had desecrated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been desecrating
- Future
- will desecrate
- Future continuous
- will be desecrating
- Future perfect
- will have desecrated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been desecrating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Forms: desecrate; desecrates; desecrated; desecrated; desecrating Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: desecrates.
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