sin

¹ American  

[sin] / sɪn /

noun

1. transgression of divine law.

   the sin of Adam.

   Synonyms:

   violation, trespass, misdeed

2. any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.

   Synonyms:

   wickedness, wrong

3. any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense.

   It's a sin to waste time.

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verb (used without object)

sinned, sinning

1. to commit a sinful act.

   Synonyms:

   trespass, transgress

2. to offend against a principle, standard, etc.

verb (used with object)

sinned, sinning

1. to commit or perform sinfully.

   He sinned his crimes without compunction.

2. to bring, drive, etc., by sinning.

   He sinned his soul to perdition.

sin ² American  

[seen] / sin /

noun

1. the 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

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sin ³ American  

abbreviation

Trigonometry.

1. sine.

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sīn ⁴ American  

[seen] / sin /

noun

1. the 12th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

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Sin ⁵ American  

[seen] / sin /

noun

1. the Akkadian god of the moon: the counterpart of the Sumerian Nanna.

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sin ¹ British  

/ sɪn /

noun

1. theol

   1. transgression of God's known will or any principle or law regarded as embodying this

   2. the condition of estrangement from God arising from such transgression See also actual sin mortal sin original sin venial sin

2. any serious offence, as against a religious or moral principle

3. any offence against a principle or standard

4. informal (of an unmarried couple) to live together

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verb

1. theol to commit a sin

2. (usually foll by against) to commit an offence (against a person, principle, etc)

SIN ² British  

abbreviation

1. social insurance number

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sin ³ British  

/ siːn /

noun

1. a variant of shin, the 21st letter in the Hebrew alphabet (שׂ), transliterated as S See shin 2

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sin ⁴ British  

/ sɪn /

preposition

1. a Scot dialect word for since

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sin ⁵ British  

/ saɪn /

abbreviation

1. sine

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sin Scientific  

1. Abbreviation of sine

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sin Idioms  

1. see live in sin; more sinned against than sinning; multitude of sins; ugly as sin; wages of sin.

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Related Words

See crime.

Other Word Forms

• sinlike adjective
• sinner noun
• sinningly adverb
• sinningness noun
• unsinning adjective

Etymology

Origin of sin¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun sinne, sin(e), sen(ne), Old English syn(n) “moral or religious offense, misdeed”; akin to German Sünde, Old Norse synd, Latin sōns (inflectional stem sont- ) “guilty,” literally “that man being the one”; the verb is derivative of the noun; the Germanic and Latin forms all being present participle forms of the root es- “to be”; am ( def. )

Origin of sin²

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Hebrew śīn

Origin of sīn⁴

From Arabic

Example Sentences

By handing Banks a length of rope instead, and standing by as she prettily ties it into a noose, they invite the audience to conclude that the many sins of “Top Model” weren’t merely systemic.

From Salon

That makes sense: Mr. Scorsese’s work bristled with New York sin, guilt and violence, while the author’s three subjects were all schooled and made their homes and films in California.

From The Wall Street Journal

This documentary doesn’t absolve any sins; it highlights them.

From Salon

“Throw away that skirt. It is a talent, to learn to dress like yourself. Beauty is overrated, but it is not a sin.”

From Literature

It’s not the sins of the father that will be visited upon the son.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crime
• error
• evil
• fault
• guilt
• immorality
• lust
• misdeed
• offense
• shortcoming
• transgression
• violation
• wrong
• wrongdoing