unconsecrate

Etymology

From un- + consecrate.

unconsecrate means to render not sacred; to remove sanctity. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why this word is great

UNCONSECRATE — [Verb] To render not sacred; to remove sanctity from something previously consecrated. Formed within English from the prefix un- (expressing reversal) and the verb consecrate (from Latin consecratus, past participle of consecrare, 'to dedicate, make sacred'). Unlike "desecrate" (which implies a violent, profane violation) or "deconsecrate" (which denotes a formal ecclesiastical rite), to unconsecrate is the quiet, procedural reversal of a blessing. It is the bishop's murmured prayer over an empty church, the workman's neutral hammer removing a saint's statue from its niche, and the precise legal language in a deed that transforms hallowed ground back into mere real estate—the solemn recognition that what is made holy by ceremony can be unmade by the quiet machinery of disenchantment.

verb

To render not sacred; to remove sanctity.“unconsecrated and profaned that sacred edifice”