sinner
Americannoun
-
sinners
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sinner
A Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at sin 1, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The author’s ill-matched father and mother are saints; his stepmother, Raine Spencer, a sinner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
"The 1851 memoir, by contrast, was a spiritual redemption story, with Byfield tracing his progress from rebellious sinner to devout and repentant Christian."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
Weinstein had become “the poster boy, the original sinner, for the #MeToo movement,” he added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025
Chun Woo-won, 27, said military strongman Chun Doo-hwan was a "sinner and slaughterer".
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2023
The old, old mystery took hold as the priest slid open the tiny door that separated him from the sinner and made the sign of the cross before the grilled window.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
A 1772 meditation about the crucifixion by a man who struggled with depression all his life, the hymn dwells on Christ’s gory death and evokes the metaphor of sinners bathing in blood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
Perhaps out of a shared sense of guilt, Oppenheimer yearns to give these sinners a chance to atone for their mistakes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
A year before news of her husband’s affair became public, during an interview with a local radio show, Angela said, “The secret to a successful marriage is two sinners who are good, are forgiving.”
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2023
“I saw a quote the other day,” she said in a 2019 interview, “and it said, the secret to a successful marriage is two sinners who are good at forgiving.”
From New York Times ● May 31, 2023
“But, Sir, I thought every story should have some sort of a moral, so I took care to have a few of my sinners repent.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
