SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
irreverent
adjective
Showing a lack of solemn respect for something usually treated seriously.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Lacking solemn respect
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topIrreverent humor need not be hostile; impious is appropriate when the target is religious reverence.
RELATED FORMS, ONE FEATURED ENTRY
The irreverent family
These forms are closely related, but their grammar and use are not identical. Expand a form to compare its meaning and examples.
irreverencenoun
A lack of the respect or seriousness conventionally shown to someone or something.
Lack of conventional respect
Closest synonyms
Related expressions
The comedy's playful irreverence challenged the club's solemn traditions.
Tessa added irreverence when a character used the committee's ceremonial stamp as a paperweight, treating a solemn symbol casually.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See irreverent in use
The irreverent comedy pokes fun at the academy's ceremonies.
The director preferred an irreverent joke that gently deflated a pompous official's solemn self-presentation without using gross language.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license