Practice
Sacrosanct: meaning, tone, and examples in English
Sign in to saveA committee may call its safety rules sacrosanct. It means the committee treats those rules as protected from change or interference, not that every reader must agree with the decision.
Use sacrosanct as a formal adjective for something treated as too important or valuable to question, change, or interfere with, and make clear who treats it that way.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
sacrosanct /ˈsæk.rəʊ.sæŋkt/
The short answer
Sacrosanct means treated as too important or valuable to question, change, or interfere with. It is a formal adjective, usually placed before a noun or used after be.
For the volunteers, the promise of confidentiality was sacrosanct.
Why it works: Sacrosanct follows was and says that the volunteers treated confidentiality as protected from interference.
6 more examples
-
The editor treated the witness's anonymity as sacrosanct.
Sacrosanct follows treated and describes the editor's strong commitment to protecting anonymity.
Not this:The editor treated the witness's anonymity as
casually important. What changes: Casually important conflicts with the strong protection expressed by sacrosanct. Use an adjective that matches the level of commitment. -
In the monastery, the library's oldest manuscripts were considered sacrosanct.
Considered shows whose view is being reported, while sacrosanct describes the protected status of the manuscripts.
Not this:In the monastery, the library's oldest manuscripts were considered
sacrosancts. What changes: Sacrosanct is an adjective here. It does not normally take a plural ending. -
The union argued that the lunch break was not sacrosanct and could be discussed during negotiations.
Not sacrosanct means the union did not treat the arrangement as beyond discussion or change.
Not this:The union argued that the lunch break was
not sacredand could be discussed during negotiations. What changes: Sacred is mainly connected with religion or deep reverence. Sacrosanct is more natural for a rule or arrangement treated as protected from change. -
The museum's policy makes the conservation record sacrosanct during the restoration project.
The policy gives a clear context for why the record is treated as protected.
Not this:The museum's policy makes the conservation record
a sacrosanctduring the restoration project. What changes: Use sacrosanct to describe a noun such as record, principle, or rule. Do not use it alone as a countable noun. -
The columnist questioned the assumption that the annual ceremony was sacrosanct.
Questioned the assumption makes clear that the columnist is challenging a group's attitude, not denying that the ceremony exists.
Not this:The columnist questioned the assumption that the annual ceremony
was ordinary. What changes: Ordinary means common or unremarkable. It does not express the idea of protection from criticism or change. -
For Maya, one quiet hour after work was sacrosanct.
The sentence uses sacrosanct figuratively for personal time that Maya strongly protects.
Not this:For Maya, one quiet hour after work
was mandatory. What changes: Mandatory means required by a rule. Sacrosanct describes something a person treats as protected, whether or not a rule requires it.
Read the full guide
Use sacrosanct when you mean more than important. The word says that people treat the thing as protected from ordinary challenge or change. Name those people or the setting when that information helps the reader understand the claim.
Use sacrosanct for strong protection
Sacrosanct means treated as too important or valuable to question, change, or interfere with. It describes an attitude toward a thing. The thing may be a right, a principle, a tradition, a record, or a person's private time.
For the research team, the consent process was sacrosanct.
The team treats the consent process as protected from shortcuts or interference.
The archive regards the original letters as sacrosanct.
Regards tells the reader that this is the archive's strong view of the letters.
Does sacrosanct mean merely useful, or protected from ordinary challenge?
It means protected from ordinary challenge, change, or interference.
Use an adjective pattern
Sacrosanct is an adjective. It can go before a noun, as in a sacrosanct rule, or after a linking verb, as in the rule is sacrosanct. It does not normally name an object by itself.
The company calls customer privacy a sacrosanct principle.
Sacrosanct describes principle and comes before the noun.
For the coach, player safety is sacrosanct.
Sacrosanct follows is and still describes player safety.
Complete the phrase: a ___ principle.
Use sacrosanct.
Name who holds the view
Something is sacrosanct because a person or group treats it that way. When the attitude may be disputed, name the speaker, institution, or community. This prevents a sentence from presenting one group's view as an unquestioned fact.
For the residents, the public garden was sacrosanct.
For the residents identifies the people who strongly protect the garden.
The report says that the board considered the deadline sacrosanct.
The report says attributes the attitude to the board.
What can you add if only one group treats a rule as sacrosanct?
Name the group or use a reporting phrase such as the board considered it sacrosanct.
Notice the formal tone
Sacrosanct has a formal and emphatic tone. It may be suitable in an essay, report, speech, review, or serious conversation. In an ordinary instruction, protected, private, fixed, or important may be clearer because those words state a more specific idea.
The sign says that the emergency exit must remain clear.
Must remain clear is direct and suitable for a practical safety instruction.
The historian wrote that the ritual was sacrosanct within the community.
Sacrosanct fits a formal account of a practice treated with special respect.
Which word is usually plainer for a routine rule: sacrosanct or required?
Required is usually plainer when you simply mean that a rule must be followed.
Separate respect from agreement
Calling something sacrosanct can express approval, but it can also question a refusal to discuss or change it. Read the surrounding words. A writer may respect a value deeply, or may argue that an institution treats a policy as beyond criticism. The word alone does not settle the argument.
The reviewer asked whether the old procedure had become sacrosanct without good reason.
Had become sacrosanct suggests criticism of treating the procedure as untouchable.
The speaker said that equal treatment was sacrosanct.
The speaker uses sacrosanct to show strong respect for equal treatment.
Does sacrosanct always show that the writer agrees with the protected thing?
No. The writer may be reporting respect or criticizing the idea that something cannot be discussed.
Before you go
Remember this
Use sacrosanct as a formal adjective for something treated as beyond ordinary interference, criticism, or change. Put it before a noun or after be, and name the group or context when needed. Choose a plainer word when you only mean important, required, or private.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Sacrosanct: meaning, tone, and examples in English"
What does sacrosanct mean in simple English?
Sacrosanct means treated as too important or valuable to be questioned, changed, or interfered with. For example, an editor may treat a witness's anonymity as sacrosanct, meaning the editor strongly protects it.
The editor treated the witness's anonymity as sacrosanct.
Is sacrosanct an adjective?
Yes. Sacrosanct is an adjective. You can write a sacrosanct principle or say that a principle is sacrosanct. Do not usually use it as a noun or make it plural, because it describes a thing rather than naming one.
The editor treated the witness's anonymity as casually important.
Does sacrosanct only have a religious meaning?
No. Sacrosanct has religious origins and can still be used in a religious setting, but modern English also uses it for rights, privacy, traditions, records, and personal time. The formal word always suggests unusually strong protection or respect.
In the monastery, the library's oldest manuscripts were considered sacrosanct.
What is the difference between sacrosanct and important?
Important means having value or influence. Sacrosanct is stronger: it suggests that people treat something as protected from ordinary criticism, change, or interference. A quiet hour after work may be important to Maya, but calling it sacrosanct shows that she guards it closely.
In the monastery, the library's oldest manuscripts were considered sacrosancts.
Can sacrosanct sound critical?
Yes. It can express respect, but it can also question an attitude. A columnist may question the assumption that an annual ceremony is sacrosanct, suggesting that people should be able to discuss or change it. Context shows whether the writer approves.
The union argued that the lunch break was not sacrosanct and could be discussed during negotiations.