Sacrificial

//ˈsæk.ɹɪ.fɪʃ.əl// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Relating to sacrifice. not-comparable

    "The old sacrificial well is still there, but animals aren't thrown into it to appease monsters anymore."

  2. 2
    Used as a sacrifice. not-comparable

    "The sacrificial coating protects the hull, but because it takes the damage the hull doesn't, we must replace it annually."

Adjective
  1. 1
    used in or connected with a sacrifice wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
atoningbestbottomconciliatorycutexpiatory

Example

More examples

"How many sacrificial lambs do we need to bring the rain back?"

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sacrificiālis (“sacrificial”), from sacrificium (“sacrifice”), from sacrificus (“sacrificial”), from sacrificō (“sacrifice”), from sacer (“sacred, holy”) + faciō (“do, make”). By surface analysis, sacrifice + -ial.

Related phrases

sacrificial anodesacrificial lambsacrificial poet

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.