irreverent.

Showing little respect for something conventionally treated as solemn, sacred, or authoritative.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• irreverent humor
• an irreverent remark

On the page

His irreverent remark punctured the carefully staged ceremony.

The essay’s irreverent tone concealed a serious regard for its subject.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more irreverent; superlative most irreverent where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.