Sanctuary

noun

/ˈsæŋk.tʃu.er.i/

A designated protected area where wild animals, birds, and plants are shielded from hunting, poaching, and habitat destruction, with limited human activities permitted under regulation.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

In an era of mass displacement, India's tradition of granting sanctuary to the persecuted — from Tibetan refugees to the Parsis centuries earlier — illustrates how a nation's moral standing in the world is measured not by the borders it guards but by the shelter it extends.

Synonyms

refugeasylumhavenshelterretreatreserve

Antonyms

dangerexposureperilthreat

🌱 Word Family

sanctuaries (n pl), sanctify (v), sanctified (adj), sanctity (n), sanction (n/v)

🔡 Root

Latin sanctuarium = sacred place, shrine; sanctus = holy, sacred (from sancire = to consecrate); -arium = place suffix

📜 Etymology

From Latin sanctuarium ("a sacred place, shrine"), from sanctus ("holy, sacred") — originally a place of religious refuge, the meaning expanded to include protected areas for wildlife from the 1930s onward.

🧠 Memory Hook

Root sanct- = 'holy' (as in sanctify, sacrosanct). A SANCTuary is a HOLY, set-apart place where you are safe — the sanctity of the spot grants protection.

📝 Seen in UPSC Question Papers

Prelims 2020 — Protected Areas
Prelims 2017 — Protected Areas

Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Sanctuary” — proof this word earns its place on your list.

🌿 Environment & Ecology 📖 Seen in: Wildlife Conservation — Protected Area...

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