original sin

American  

noun

1. Theology.

   1. a depravity, or tendency to evil, held to be innate in humankind and transmitted from Adam to all humans in consequence of his sin.

   2. inclination to evil, inherent in human nature.

2. Roman Catholic Theology. the privation of sanctifying grace in consequence of the sin of Adam.

---

original sin British  

noun

1. a state of sin held to be innate in mankind as the descendants of Adam

---

original sin ¹ Cultural  

1. The eating of the forbidden fruit by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which led to their expulsion from Eden by God. In Christian theology, the act by which all humans fell from divine grace.

---

original sin ² Cultural  

1. The sin of Adam and Eve, the essential event of the Fall of Man. According to the most common teaching of Christians (see also Christian), all descendants of Adam and Eve — that is, all people — share in this sin and are, from the time they are conceived, in a state of sin. In German, the term used is Erbsunde, meaning “inherited sin,” a more explanatory term than the English one. Jesus, through his Crucifixion and Resurrection, atoned for original sin. All who believe in Jesus and accept baptism are freed from original sin and experience salvation (see also salvation). (See justification by grace, through faith.)

---

Etymology

Origin of original sin

1300–50; Middle English; translation of Medieval Latin peccātum orīgināle

Example Sentences

Nothing will ever undo the original sin, and devoting your life to ruining someone else’s is a loss for both of you.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

“Parade” understands that America’s original sin — slavery and the economic apparatus that sanctioned the dehumanization of groups deemed as “other” — can’t be divorced from Leo’s story.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2025

This soul-gnawing anxiety is not original sin in the Christian sense, even if it functions in much the same way.

From Salon • May 25, 2025

So then—can an inanimate tool such as this typewriter be penitent, reformed, and redeemed from the original sin of its creation?

From Slate • Mar. 16, 2024

For medieval Christians, the existence of such a chain of humans provided a most powerful and original understanding of original sin.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee