Meaning

A place of safety, refuge, or protection..

Definitions by Sense

1. A place of safety, refuge, or protection.
2. An area set aside for protection.
3. A state of being protected, asylum.
4. The consecrated (or sacred) area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.

Example Sentences

My car is a sanctuary, where none can disturb me except for people who cut me off.

She saw him, even as she had last gazed upon him, pale, cold, and awful; but still he was there. The coffin was to her like a shrine; all that she held most dear and most precious was within its dark and silent sanctuary.

‘I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,’ the Chief was saying. ‘An Alsatia like the ancient one behind the Strand, or the Saffron Hill before the First World War.[…]’

In January, federal agents indicted 16 sanctuary leaders from Texas and Arizona on charges of helping to harbor illegal immigrants from Central America.

The bird sanctuary has strict restrictions on visitors so the birds aren't disturbed.

The government granted sanctuary to the defector, protecting him from his former government.

Near-synonym: chancel (broadly synonymous)

Word Forms

• sanctuaries

Synonyms for sanctuary

Related Words

When Should You Use Sanctuary?

Use sanctuary when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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