adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈsæk.ɹɪ.fɪʃ.əl/
/ˈsæk.ɹə.fɪʃ.əl/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɪʃəl
CMU ARPABET:S AE2 K R AH0 F IH1 SH AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Relating to sacrifice.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
The old sacrificial well is still there, but animals aren't thrown into it to appease monsters anymore.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Used as a sacrifice.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
The sacrificial coating protects the hull, but because it takes the damage the hull doesn't, we must replace it annually.
The ceremony involves the ritual slaying of a sacrificial lamb.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adjective
Meaning 3
used in or connected with a sacrifice
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
sacrificial lamb
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
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.
Across languages
Translations
21 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
تَضْحِيَة
(taḍḥiya)
— relating to sacrifice
Arabic:
أُضْحِيَّة
(ʔuḍḥiyya)
— relating to sacrifice
Arabic:
أَضَاحِيّ pl ذَبِيحَة
(ʔaḍāḥiyy)
— relating to sacrifice
Arabic:
قُرْبَانِيّ
(qurbāniyy)
— relating to sacrifice
Bulgarian:
жертвен
(žertven)
— relating to sacrifice
Catalan:
sacrificial
— relating to sacrifice
Dutch:
offer-
— relating to sacrifice
Finnish:
uhri-
— relating to sacrifice
French:
sacrificiel
— relating to sacrifice
German:
Opfer-
— relating to sacrifice
Italian:
sacrificale
— relating to sacrifice
Romanian:
sacrifical
— relating to sacrifice
Russian:
же́ртвенный
(žértvennyj)
— relating to sacrifice
Spanish:
sacrificial
— relating to sacrifice
Swedish:
offer-
— relating to sacrifice
Welsh:
aberthol
— relating to sacrifice
Arabic:
مُضَحٍّ
(muḍaḥḥin)
— used as a sacrifice
Finnish:
uhri-
— used as a sacrifice
German:
Opfer-
— used as a sacrifice
Russian:
же́ртвенный
(žértvennyj)
— used as a sacrifice
