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

The Lebanese nationals living in Syria had retained their citizenship, but made the area around Qusayr their home, living and working alongside local Sunni residents.

From Barron's

Initial concerns that stricter Islamist rules would be imposed by Sharaa and his supporters, who adhere to a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam, have not materialised in the main, but worries still linger for some.

From BBC

The city grabbed international attention in 2001, when the Sunni Pashtun Taliban authorities destroyed two large Buddha statues cherished by the predominantly Shia Hazara community in the region.

From Barron's

An adherent of Wahhabism, a conservative and fundamentalist interpretation of Sunni Islam, he hopes to rally a population exhausted by over a decade of conflict.

From Barron's

Also since 1979, Saudi Arabia—the cradle of Islam—had used oil money to spread its own Sunni ultra-conservative version of the faith around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal