desanctification means removal or reversal of sanctification. It carries an Arena rating of 1217, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, desanctification ranks #204 of 13,219 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,413 of 13,219 for Scariest Words, #2,422 of 13,219 for Most Malleable Words, #6,104 of 13,219 for Most Incisive Words.
Why “desanctification” is a great word
The act or process of removing a state of holiness, reversing a formal consecration. From the English prefix de- (indicating reversal or removal) + sanctification (from Latin sanctificatio, meaning 'the act of making holy'). Unlike 'desacralization,' which denotes the sociological stripping of sacred status, or 'profanation,' which is an act of contemptuous violation, desanctification is the liturgical unbinding of a vow. It is the silent removal of the blessed host from a deconsecrated tabernacle, the unsaying of the hallowing prayer over a cemetery returned to common ground, and the administrative letter that transforms a church into a community hall—the formal machinery of faith working in reverse, leaving not sacrilege, but mere, resonant space.
Etymology
From de- + sanctification.
noun
- Removal or reversal of sanctification.“"It's nice to have a church building in the neighborhood," says Brendan Gill, the New Yorker theater critic and chairman emeritus of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. "If the interiors are not works of art, it's appropriate, after a process of desanctification, that these unused churches be converted into apartments."”
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