sin

¹

[sin]

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.

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

[seen]

noun

1. the 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

sin

³

abbreviation

Trigonometry.

1. sine.

sīn

⁴

[seen]

noun

1. the 12th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

Sin

⁵

[seen]

noun

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

sin

¹

/ 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

verb

1. theol to commit a sin

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

sin

²

/ sɪn /

preposition

1. a Scot dialect word for since

sin

³

/ siːn /

noun

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

sin

⁴

/ saɪn /

abbreviation

1. sine

SIN

⁵

abbreviation

1. social insurance number

sin

1. Abbreviation of sine

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

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 sin³

From Arabic

Word History and Origins

Origin of sin¹

Old English synn; related to Old Norse synth, Old High German suntea sin, Latin sons guilty

Idioms and Phrases

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

Synonym Study

See crime.

Example Sentences

That the response to “West End Girl” was to immediately vilify Harbour and equate his purported sins to fireable offenses is troubling, but not surprising.

Read more on Salon

"Rest assured, I wasn't drunk, violent, or even late. No, my sin was having Parkinson's," he said.

Read more on BBC

Echoing a conservative talking point, the cartoon Washington says, “Future generations are never responsible for the sins of the past.”

Read more on Salon

With no body recovered, family members and neighbors wept in front of a photo collage of Joseph and listened to a priest who asked God to forgive Joseph for his sins.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Lear, though “more sinned against than sinning,” recognizes only after it’s too late the error in judgment that led to the devastation from which there can be no return.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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