2 N‑COUNT A sacking is when an employer tells a worker to leave their job. [BUSINESS ] □ [+ of ] …the sacking of twenty-three thousand miners.
sac|ra|ment /sæ krəmənt/ (sacraments )
1 N‑COUNT A sacrament is a Christian religious ceremony such as communion, baptism, or marriage. □ [+ of ] …the holy sacrament of baptism.
2 N‑SING In the Roman Catholic church, the Sacrament is the holy bread eaten at the Eucharist. In the Anglican church, the Sacrament is the holy bread and wine taken at Holy Communion.
sac|ra|men|tal /sæ krəme nt ə l/
1 ADJ Something that is sacramental is connected with a Christian religious ceremony. □ …the sacramental wine.
2 ADJ Sacramental is used to describe something that is considered holy or religious. □ …her view that music is a sacramental art.
sa|cred /se I kr I d/
1 ADJ Something that is sacred is believed to be holy and to have a special connection with God. □ The owl is sacred for many Californian Indian people.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Something connected with religion or used in religious ceremonies is described as sacred . □ …sacred songs or music.
3 ADJ You can describe something as sacred when it is regarded as too important to be changed or interfered with. □ My memories are sacred.
sa |cred co w (sacred cows ) N‑COUNT If you describe a belief, custom, or institution as a sacred cow , you disapprove of people treating it with too much respect and being afraid to criticize or question it. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [+ of ] …the sacred cow of monetarism.
sac|ri|fice ◆◇◇ /sæ kr I fa I s/ (sacrifices , sacrificing , sacrificed )
1 VERB If you sacrifice something that is valuable or important, you give it up, usually to obtain something else for yourself or for other people. □ [V n + to/for ] She sacrificed family life to her career. □ [V n] Kitty Aldridge has sacrificed all for her first film. □ [V pron-refl] He sacrificed himself and so saved his country. ● N‑VAR Sacrifice is also a noun. □ She made many sacrifices to get Anita a good education.
2 → see also self-sacrifice
3 VERB To sacrifice an animal or person means to kill them in a special religious ceremony as an offering to a god. □ [V n] The priest sacrificed a chicken. [Also V n to n] ● N‑COUNT Sacrifice is also a noun. □ [+ to ] …animal sacrifices to the gods.
sac|ri|fi|cial /sæ kr I f I ʃ ə l/ ADJ [ADJ n] Sacrificial means connected with or used in a sacrifice. □ …the sacrificial altar.
sa c|ri|fi|cial la mb (sacrificial lambs ) N‑COUNT If you refer to someone as a sacrificial lamb , you mean that they have been blamed unfairly for something they did not do, usually in order to protect another more powerful person or group. □ He was a sacrificial lamb to a system that destroyed him.
sac|ri|lege /sæ kr I l I dʒ/
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft a N ] Sacrilege is behaviour that shows great disrespect for a holy place or object. □ Stealing from a place of worship was regarded as sacrilege.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft a N ] You can use sacrilege to refer to disrespect that is shown for someone who is widely admired or for a belief that is widely accepted. □ It is a sacrilege to offend democracy.
sac|ri|legious /sæ kr I l I dʒəs/ ADJ If someone's behaviour or actions are sacrilegious , they show great disrespect towards something holy or towards something that people think should be respected. □ A number of churches were sacked and sacrilegious acts committed.
sac|ris|ty /sæ kr I sti/ (sacristies ) N‑COUNT A sacristy is the room in a church where the priest or minister changes into their official clothes and where holy objects are kept.
sac|ro|sanct /sæ kroʊsæŋkt/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you describe something as sacrosanct , you consider it to be special and are unwilling to see it criticized or changed. □ Freedom of the press is sacrosanct.
sad ◆◆◇ /sæ d/ (sadder , saddest )
1 ADJ [oft ADJ that/to-inf] If you are sad , you feel unhappy, usually because something has happened that you do not like. □ The relationship had been important to me and its loss left me feeling sad and empty. □ I'm sad that Julie's marriage is on the verge of splitting up. □ I'd grown fond of our little house and felt sad to leave it. □ [+ about ] I'm sad about my toys getting burned in the fire. ● sad|ly ADV [usu ADV with v] □ Judy said sadly, 'He has abandoned me.' ● sad|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ It is with a mixture of sadness and joy that I say farewell.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Sad stories and sad news make you feel sad. □ I received the sad news that he had been killed in a motor-cycle accident.
3 ADJ A sad event or situation is unfortunate or undesirable. □ It's a sad truth that children are the biggest victims of passive smoking. ● sad|ly ADV [usu ADV adj] □ Sadly, bamboo plants die after flowering.
4 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe someone as sad , you do not have any respect for them and think their behaviour or ideas are ridiculous. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ …the obsessive rantings of sad old petrolheads.
SAD /sæ d/ N‑UNCOUNT SAD is an abbreviation for seasonal affective disorder .
sad|den /sæ d ə n/ (saddens , saddened ) VERB [no cont] If something saddens you, it makes you feel sad. □ [V n] The cruelty in the world saddens me incredibly. ● sad|dened ADJ [v-link ADJ ] □ He was disappointed and saddened that legal argument had stopped the trial. ● sad|den|ing ADJ □ …a saddening experience.