more sinned against than sinning

Cultural  

1. An expression used of those who, though they may be guilty of wrongdoing, think themselves the victim of a more serious wrong. From William Shakespeare's King Lear.

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more sinned against than sinning Idioms  

1. Less guilty than those who have injured one, as in It's true she took the money but they did owe her quite a bit—in a way she's more sinned against than sinning. This expression comes from Shakespeare's King Lear (3:2), where the King, on the heath during a storm, so describes his plight.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

more sinned against than sinning

He insists he is a man more sinned against than sinning and is working with lawyers to clear his name.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2021

He’s willing to acknowledge that his earlier comments about hanging were “trollish and hostile,” but he clearly feels more sinned against than sinning.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 23, 2018

If the increasingly power-addicted Cromwell feels more sinned against than sinning here, with a script that spells out his psychological motivation, Mr. Miles still conveys the essential intent watchfulness.

From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2014

But such comments go too far; Dalton is a Bond way more sinned against than sinning.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 5, 2012

For she must be offered up as more sinned against than sinning.

From Ainslee's, Vol. 15, No. 5, June 1905 by Various