Sunni

American  

[soon-ee] / ˈsʊn i /

noun

Islam.

1. Also called Sunnite.  a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam, regarding the first four caliphs as legitimate successors of Muhammad and stressing the importance of Sunna as a basis for law.

2. (used with a plural verb) the Sunni Muslims.

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Sunni British  

/ ˈsʌnɪ /

noun

1. one of the two main branches of orthodox Islam (the other being the Shiah), consisting of those who acknowledge the authority of the Sunna

2. another term for Sunnite

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Other Word Forms

• Sunnism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Sunni

1620–30; < Arabic sunnī, derivative of sunnah Sunna

Compare meaning

How does sunni compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Sunni vs. Shiʿite

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Sunni

Turkey has championed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Sunni jihadist whose rebels in late 2024 ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, ending a brutal civil war.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Instead, Damascus belongs to Ahmed al-Sharaa, a Sunni leader and former commander of al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, who had fought Hezbollah for years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

In April, security forces fired in the air as they entered a Sunni area of Beirut to arrest a generator operator wanted for allegedly disregarding regulations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

The pontiff arrived in Algeria on Monday, marking the first visit by any pope to the predominantly Sunni Muslim country.

From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026

But she learned that there were Shiite and Sunni interpretations of the Qur’an, and within any mosque there were the same variations in faith and commitment as there were in any church.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers