How to Use sacrificial in a Sentence

sacrificial

adjective
  • Fire pits found at the site may have once been used for large sacrificial fires.
    — Elizabeth Djinis, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 July 2022
  • These act as sacrificial pawns, much like the seed beetle’s shield eggs.
    — Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 14 Sep. 2011
  • Is there a sacrificial structure for antler rubbing that could be built?
    — oregonlive, 30 Jan. 2021
  • Cheek plates depict a warrior about to kill a sacrificial ram.
    — Ryan Brennan april 10, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The site has 22 stone chambers, stone walls, a sacrificial tablet and drains.
    — Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2021
  • As a result, the system does not split pure water and needs methanol as a sacrificial helper.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 27 Dec. 2025
  • The squash vine borers and other pests will stay busy feeding on these sacrificial plants.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Aztec priests cut open the chests of sacrificial victims and offered their still-beating hearts to the gods.
    — Tilak Doshi, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2023
  • The climax is a punishing sacrificial dance by a woman in a red dress.
    — The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2023
  • When love is the way -- unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive, when love is the way.
    — Cnn Staff, CNN, 19 May 2018
  • The ditches were then closed up with the sacrificial objects inside.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Jan. 2025
  • And why did the Maya take their sacrificial rites underground?
    — Discover Magazine, 10 May 2017
  • That brings us to Option 3, which is some sort of sacrificial firing.
    — Jamie Samuelsen, Detroit Free Press, 2 Dec. 2019
  • The priests would dip the goat’s hides in strips into sacrificial blood and then go and gently slap women and crop fields with the bloody hide.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2023
  • Still, the bones likely belonged to sacrificial victims, the study said.
    — Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2024
  • The sacrificial film is placed on top of the transistor chip, and a source of carbon is deposited on top.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Now if Heat want to trade Meyers Leonard, who would be sacrificial pawn this time around?
    — Ira Winderman, sun-sentinel.com, 16 Mar. 2021
  • But every once in a while, college football’s sacrificial lambs bare their teeth and take a bite out of the standardized script.
    — Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 19 Sep. 2021
  • When love is the way, unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive, then no child will go to bed hungry in this world ever again.
    — Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, chicagotribune.com, 19 May 2018
  • Lake Charles and Cameron are sacrificial land for these industries.
    — Longreads, 9 Mar. 2022
  • To Black, 33, that's the sound of bravery, hope and a mother's sacrificial love.
    — Eric Adler, kansascity, 10 May 2018
  • The opera, which is in three acts and plays without a break, opens with a sacrificial throat slashing of an Iphigenia.
    — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2022
  • When love is the way, unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive, when love is the way, then no child will go to bed hungry in this world ever again.
    — Elizabeth Angell, Town & Country, 5 Dec. 2018
  • The first steeping is sacrificial, used to awaken the tea leaves for optimal infusion, and is poured out.
    — Jasmine Ting, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Other key finds include a bronze sacrificial altar, a giant bronze mask, and a bronze statue with a human head and a snake’s body.
    — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 June 2022
  • East of the temple is a sacrificial altar, where ancient Greeks would make offerings to the god.
    — Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Nov. 2020
  • The animal was buried in a sacrificial pit outside Wen’s grave, with its head facing the tomb and its tail facing west.
    — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Aug. 2023
  • Hulu thinks their tracks are covered by hiring Black sacrificial lambs to play the part as front men for their backdoor robbery.
    — Jessica Wang, EW.com, 7 Aug. 2022
  • Finally, thanks to Joe for your sacrificial trip to help care for and pray with Dad during his final days.
    — courant.com, 22 May 2018
  • In them, Aztec priests cut beating hearts from the chests of sacrificial victims before throwing them down the steep steps of pyramids.
    — Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 9 May 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sacrificial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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