blaspheme means to commit blasphemy; to speak against God or religious doctrine. It carries an Arena rating of 1773, earned across 14 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, blaspheme ranks #1,238 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,274 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,445 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #2,657 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
blaspheme is pronounced /ˌblæsˈfiːm/.
Why “blaspheme” is a great word
To speak with irreverence or contempt about God or sacred things. From Middle English blasfemen, from Old French blasfemer, from Late Latin blasphēmāre, from Ancient Greek βλασφημέω (blasphēméō, "to speak profanely, slander"). Unlike profane, which can be an act of desecrating a place, or revile, which hurls abuse at any target, to blaspheme is a verbal trespass directed deliberately upward. It is the hissed curse in an empty church, the defiant treatise burned in the square, the whispered heresy that echoes louder than any prayer—a human voice testing the silence of the heavens for a reply that never comes.
Etymology
From Middle English blasfemen, blasphemen, from Old French blasfemer, from Late Latin blasphēmāre, from Ancient Greek βλασφημέω (blasphēméō). Doublet of blame.
verb
- To commit blasphemy; to speak against God or religious doctrine.e.g.“But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 3:29:
- To speak of, or address, with impious irreverence; to revile impiously (anything sacred).
- To calumniate; to revile; to abuse.e.g.“You do blaspheme the good in mocking me.” — c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount,
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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