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countable and uncountable, plural sanctuaries
A place of safety, refuge, or protection. quotations examples
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.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Last Night with the Dead”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], page 315
‘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. […]’
1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess
An area set aside for protection. examples
A state of being protected, asylum. examples
The consecrated (or sacred) area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar. examples