sacred
adjective
Simple meaning
Having solemn religious ceremony or religious use.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
saykruhdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈseɪkɹəd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Characterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use, especially, in a positive sense; consecrated, made holy.
Religious; relating to religion, or to the services of religion; not secular
Concerned with religion or religious purposes
Designated or exalted by a divine sanction; possessing the highest title to obedience, honor, reverence, or veneration; entitled to extreme reverence; venerable.
followed by the preposition "to"
Consecrated; dedicated; devoted
Spiritual; concerned with metaphysics.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Characterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use, especially, in a positive sense; consecrated, made holy.
Used this way, sacred is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a religious use: it carries the weight of tradition and ceremony.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Formal and ceremonial
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Where it naturally appears
- Religion/spirituality
- Historical writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use sacred
- “Many ancient cultures consider certain places to be sacred ground.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Consecrated or sanctified.
Sacred, very holy.
Made holy; set aside for sacred or ceremonial use.
Of or pertaining to God or a place of worship.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The body of all cardinals of the church.
The body of all cardinals of the church.
A person unreasonably held to be immune to criticism.
Fig tree of India noted for great size and longevity.
African ibis venerated by ancient Egyptians.
Native to eastern Asia.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- secularadjective
- conventnoun
- theologynoun
- scripturenoun
- congregationnoun
- hinduismnoun
- pilgrimagenoun
- shrinenoun
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: characterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use
Antonyms
Sense: characterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use
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