Irreverence is not showing the respect that most people give to organisations, customs, beliefs, holy things, or important people. A joke about a temple, a cartoon about a president, a student who treats a solemn ceremony as a game — that is irreverence. Though actually, English often uses this word with a little approval. It can mean someone is brave enough, or funny enough, not to bow too low. It is not the same as being cruel, and it is not the same as irrelevant, which only means “not related to the topic.”