Home › Glossary › Letter S

Sacred

Philosophy
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The sacred refers to that which is set apart, holy, or deserving of reverence. It is a quality of ultimate significance, often linked to the divine or the transcendent.

Detailed Definition
In religious studies, the sacred is opposed to the profane. In poetry, it appears in themes of spirituality, mystery, and awe. A poem can create a sacred space through ritualistic language or by contemplating the sublime. Poets explore the sacred in both religious and secular contexts, finding moments of transcendence in nature, art, or human experience. This concept gives poetry a capacity to evoke wonder and a sense of the other.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem that uses ritualistic language, like a liturgy, is making an appeal to the sacred; The celebration of a natural phenomenon, like a mountain or a river, in a poem can render it sacred; A poem that invokes a deity, like Dante's "Divine Comedy," is dealing with the sacred; A poem that seeks a moment of transcendence, like a Wordsworthian "spot of time," treats a secular experience as sacred.
Additional Notes
The sacred refers to a quality of being set apart, holy, or worthy of reverence, often associated with the divine, the transcendent, or the ultimate. In religious studies, it is the opposite of the "profane." The sacred can be a place, an object, a time, or a person. In poetry, the sacred appears in themes of spirituality, mystery, and awe. A poem can create a sacred space through ritualistic language or by contemplating the sublime. Poets explore the sacred in both religious and secular contexts, finding moments of transcendence in nature, art, or human experience. This concept gives poetry a capacity to evoke wonder and a sense of the other, connecting the individual to something larger than themselves.
Other Meanings of “Sacred”
Also Known As
The Holy The Numinous Divine Hallowed
Skip to main content