iniquity

[ ih-nik-wi-tee ]

/ ɪˈnɪk wɪ ti /

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noun, plural in·iq·ui·ties.

gross injustice or wickedness.

a violation of right or duty; wicked act; sin.

Nearby words

inimitability, inimitable, inion, iniquitous, iniquitously, iniquity, init., initial, initial code, initial rhyme, initial teaching alphabet

Origin of iniquity

1300–50; Middle English < Latin inīquitās unevenness, unfairness, equivalent to inīqu(us) uneven, unfair (in- in-³ + -īquus, combining form of aequus even, equal) + -itās -ity

SYNONYMS FOR iniquity

1 evildoing, infamy, depravity, knavery.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR iniquity ON THESAURUS.COM

Can be confusedinequity iniquity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for iniquity

He stormed legendary spots like Palladium and Tunnel, and turned them into strobe-lit dens of iniquity.
The Party Monster Lives For the Applause: Michael Alig’s Second Act|Caitlin Dickson|February 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He read Borges and admired him, but the title of The Universal History of Iniquity gave him an immediate jolt.
Danilo Kis, the Stylish Historian of Infamy|Anthony Paletta|June 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Residents of South Carolina divorce at a rate twice as high as for that den of iniquity, Washington, D.C.
Marianne Gingrich Interview Casts Doubts on Newt’s New Image|Margaret Carlson|January 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The guerrillas also attacked the hotel, he says, because it was a den of iniquity in the eyes of the puritanical insurgency.
Exclusive: Taliban Boast About Kabul Hotel Attack|Sami Yousafzai, Ron Moreau|June 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST

A cynic might question the use of religion as a landing pad when one is tumbling from a place of power into the abyss of iniquity.
The Passion of Mark Sanford|Kathleen Parker|June 27, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The whole of this mystery of iniquity is called the reason of state.
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. I. (of 12)|Edmund Burke
Conscience had been bribed into acquiescence, and the iniquity thrived.
History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to 1880. Vol 1|George W. Williams
The priests of the world cloak their iniquity by saying there is no more revelation.
Wilford Woodruff|Matthias F. Cowley
They were born in sin and shapen in iniquity, and in sin did their mothers conceive them.
Flowers of Freethought|George W. Foote
Thus they secretly, though perhaps unwittingly, "rejoice in iniquity."
A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females|Harvey Newcomb

British Dictionary definitions for iniquity

iniquity

/ (ɪˈnɪkwɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

lack of justice or righteousness; wickedness; injustice

a wicked act; sin

Derived Formsiniquitous, adjectiveiniquitously, adverbiniquitousness, noun

Word Origin for iniquity

C14: from Latin inīquitās, from inīquus unfair, from in- 1 + aequus even, level; see equal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for iniquity

iniquity

c.1300, "hostility, malevolence; a hostile action," from Old French iniquité "wickedness, unfavorable situation," from Latin iniquitatem (nominative iniquitas) "unequalness, unevenness, injustice," noun of quality from iniquus "unjust, unequal; slanting, steep," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + aequus "just, equal" (see equal). For vowel change, see acquisition. Meaning "evil, wickedness" is from late 14c.

iniquity

noun, plural in·iq·ui·ties.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of iniquity

Examples from the Web for iniquity

British Dictionary definitions for iniquity

iniquity

noun plural -ties

Word Origin for iniquity

Word Origin and History for iniquity

iniquity