Sanctum

//ˈsæŋktəm// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A place set apart, as with a sanctum sanctorum; a sacred or private place; a private retreat or workroom.

    "As he descended the stairs, two persons passed him, so remarkably dissimilar in their persons, dress, and carriage, that he could not forbear to look earnestly at them, as forming a criterion of the mixed character of company admissible in such places, and which was to him (with his preconceived notions of the inviolability of the female sanctum) an insuperable objection to such scenes of general resort."

  2. 2
    a sacred place of pilgrimage wordnet
  3. 3
    a place of inviolable privacy wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
holy placeadytumashramcabinetcellcloister

Example

More examples

"Medvedev is inside Putin's inner sanctum."

Etymology

From Latin sānctum (“that which is holy”).

Related phrases

inner sanctumsanctum sanctorum

More for "sanctum"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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