sacrosanct

adjective

sac·ro·sanct | \ ˈsa-krō-ˌsaŋ(k)t

Definition of sacrosanct

1 : most sacred or holy : inviolable

2 : treated as if holy : immune from criticism or violation politically sacrosanct programs

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Did You Know?

That which is sacrosanct is doubly sacred: the two Latin components underlying the word, "sacro" and "sanctus," were combined long ago to form a phrase meaning "hallowed by a sacred rite." Sacro means "by a sacred rite" and comes from "sacrum," a Latin noun that lives on in English anatomy as the name for our pelvic vertebrae-a shortening of "os sacrum," which literally means "holy bone." Sanctus means "sacred" and gave us "saint" and obvious words like "sanctimony," "sanctify," and "sanctuary."

Examples of sacrosanct in a Sentence

the government's most sacrosanct institutions The tradition is regarded as sacrosanct.

Recent Examples on the Web

Especially when there’s no sacrosanct source material to work from. — Tyler Aquilina, EW.com, "Carnival Row cast on bringing the fantasy world to life: 'It's so easy to get lost in'," 30 Aug. 2019 Since then, Section 230 has become sacrosanct in the eyes of Silicon Valley executives and free speech advocates. — Matt Laslo, WIRED, "The Fight Over Section 230—and the Internet as We Know It," 13 Aug. 2019 Since his eye-catching protest during President Trump’s speech Tuesday in Jamestown, Samirah has moved on to rail against something even more sacrosanct in Richmond: the Virginia Way. — Washington Post, "Meet the Virginia lawmaker who protested President Trump at Jamestown," 3 Aug. 2019 The measure that has qualified for next year’s ballot would not touch the residential half of Prop. 13, something that has been politically sacrosanct in California since the day the initiative passed. — Joe Garofoli, SFChronicle.com, "Prop. 13 reform headed to California ballot could swamp counties," 6 July 2019 Wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves must be sacrosanct. — Mayank Aggarwal, Quartz India, "Tigers in a southern reserve are victims of India’s aggressive push towards nuclear energy," 15 July 2019 No matter how busy Perot was, family dinners were sacrosanct when the children were growing up. — Cheryl Hall, Dallas News, "Ross Perot, self-made billionaire, patriot and philanthropist, dies at 89," 9 July 2019 The payments are considered sacrosanct and essential if Hezbollah is to sustain its effectiveness as a fighting force, drawing loyal and die-hard recruits, Hezbollah officials say. — Suzan Haidamous, The Seattle Times, "Trump’s sanctions on Iran are hitting Hezbollah hard," 18 May 2019 This is supposed to be a very sacrosanct function of the press. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Judge reveals how Navy tracked attorneys’ emails trying to find a reporter’s source," 14 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sacrosanct.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for sacrosanct

sacrosanct

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of sacrosanct

formal : too important and respected to be changed, criticized, etc.

See the full definition for sacrosanct in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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sacrosanct

Definition of sacrosanct

Other Words from sacrosanct

Synonyms for sacrosanct

Did You Know?

Examples of sacrosanct in a Sentence

First Known Use of sacrosanct

History and Etymology for sacrosanct

English Language Learners Definition of sacrosanct

sacrosanct

Definition of sacrosanct

Other Words from sacrosanct

Synonyms for sacrosanct

Did You Know?

Examples of sacrosanct in a Sentence

First Known Use of sacrosanct

History and Etymology for sacrosanct

English Language Learners Definition of sacrosanct

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