Sufi
Americannoun
-
Sufis
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Sufi
First recorded in 1650–55; from Arabic Ṣūfī “(man) of wool,” equivalent to ṣūf “wool” + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin; so called from the ascetic woolen clothing the Sufis wore
Example Sentences
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See Examples For:
Muslims ruled large parts of India from the early 13th to the 19th century, and during this era Muslim preachers and Sufi mystics actively proselytized for Islam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
"He's conscious. I don't know whether he'll be admitted or not for now. That's still too early to say," Sufi Yusoff told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jan. 6, 2026
The whirling Sufi dervishes have known for ages that dance is spiritual.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025
Bhajan Sopori, who has Kashmiri roots, "deepened its tonal range and infused it with Sufi expression", adds Mr Mir, helping cement the santoor's place in Indian classical music.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2025
The flautist put down his instrument and sang out a Sufi chant.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
I began to pick up some of the wise writers in the Western tradition — Meister Eckhart, Etty Hillesum — no longer convinced that Sufis or Buddhists owned a monopoly on wisdom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2025
From Malacca, religious teachers, many of them Sufis, brought Islam across the Malay Peninsula, and people on nearby islands also became converts.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
She said Sufis, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus are also persecuted, while Baha’is, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and Christians “practice secretly or have gone into hiding.”
From Washington Times ● Aug. 24, 2022
It advocates the strict Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam, while most Somalis are Sufis.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2021
“Among the Sufis there is a teaching that the universe has never been created and consequently cannot be destroyed. I have spent the afternoon,” Luke announced gravely, “browsing in our little library.”
From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson
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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.
