sanctuary means A place of safety, refuge, or protection.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, sanctuary ranks #1,876 of 14,308 for Most Malleable Words, #2,338 of 14,361 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,356 of 14,297 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,737 of 14,445 for Most Beautiful Words.
sanctuary is pronounced /ˈsæŋktjʊəɹi/.
Why “sanctuary” is a great word
A place of refuge, safety, or protection, especially one that is sacred or inviolable. From Middle English seyntuarie, from Old French saintuaire, from Late Latin sanctuarium ("a sacred place, shrine, right of asylum"), from Latin sanctus ("holy, sacred"). Unlike "asylum," which denotes a legal grant of political refuge, or "haven," which offers general comfort without sacred weight, a sanctuary carries an aura of consecrated safety. It is the cool, dim silence of a stone chapel, the deep, unmapped quiet of an old-growth forest, or the hush of a library reading room where the world is held at bay by collective faith—a hallowed hollow carved from the world’s relentless claim, suspended not by rule but by an unspoken vow that some places must remain whole.
Etymology
From Middle English seyntuarie, from Old French saintuaire, from Late Latin sanctuarium (“a sacred place, a shrine, a private cabinet, in Medieval Latin also temple, church, churchyard, cemetery, right of asylum”), from Latin sanctus (“holy, sacred”); see saint.
noun
- A place of safety, refuge, or protection.“My car is a sanctuary, where none can disturb me except for people who cut me off.”
- An area set aside for protection.“The bird sanctuary has strict restrictions on visitors so the birds aren't disturbed.”
- A state of being protected, asylum.“The government granted sanctuary to the defector, protecting him from his former government.”
- The consecrated (or sacred) area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.“Near-synonym: chancel (broadly synonymous)”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- refuge 93% match — A state of safety, protection or shelter. vs sanctuary →
- asylum 91% match — A place of safety or refuge. vs sanctuary →
- sanctity 89% match — Holiness of life or disposition; saintliness vs sanctuary →
- sacrosanct 87% match — Beyond alteration, criticism, or interference, especially due to religious sanction; inviolable. vs sanctuary →
- inviolability 87% match — The quality or state of being inviolable; inviolableness. vs sanctuary →
- refugium 87% match — Any local environment that has escaped regional ecological change and therefore provides a habitat for endangered species. vs sanctuary →
- refugee 85% match — A person seeking refuge (as for shelter or protection), especially in a foreign country, out of fear or prospect of political, religious persecution, war, natural disaster, etc. vs sanctuary →
- sacrality 85% match — The property of being sacral; sacredness. vs sanctuary →