Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Divested of consecration; no longer considered sacred or holy: Describes a place, object, or building that has had its religious sanctity formally removed through a ritual or official act. It is the opposite of being consecrated.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective:
  • The old church was deconsecrated before being sold and converted into apartments.
  • Archaeologists studied the deconsecrated altar, which was now displayed in a museum.
  • After the ceremony, the ground was deconsecrated and could be used for secular purposes.

Advanced Usage

• "To deconsecrate" (verb): The act of formally removing the sacred status from a place or object.
  • The bishop will deconsecrate the chapel next month.
• Often used in legal, historical, or architectural contexts when discussing the change in status of religious properties.

Variants and Related Words

• Deconsecrate (verb): To divest of consecration; to secularize formally.
  • The diocese decided to deconsecrate the cemetery.
• Consecrated (adjective): Made or declared sacred.
  • The consecrated ground of the cathedral.
• Secularized (adjective): Transferred from religious to civil use or possession. (A broader, often synonymous term in this context.)

Synonyms

• Desanctified: Having had sanctity removed.
• Secularized: Transferred to non-religious control or use.
• Decommissioned (in specific contexts, like a religious building taken out of service).

Antonyms

• Consecrated: Made sacred.
• Sanctified: Set apart as or declared holy.
• Blessed: Consecrated; endowed with divine favor.

Notes

• The term is specific to religious contexts, primarily within Christianity, but applicable to other faiths.
• The process of deconsecration is a formal ritual, not merely abandonment.

Adjective

1. divested of consecration