sinful
Americanadjective
adjective
-
having committed or tending to commit sin
a sinful person
-
characterized by or being a sin
a sinful act
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sinful
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English synfull. See sin 1, -ful
Explanation
Bad or wicked things can be described as sinful. You might object to a greedy businessman's sinful mistreatment of his employees , for example. Immoral or ungodly acts are considered to be sinful by some religious believers—so when a sin is committed (like telling a lie or killing someone), the behavior is described as sinful. You can also use this adjective to talk about evil acts, even if you're not sure they officially qualify as sins, or even to mean "excessive." An extravagant dessert, for example, might be called "sinful triple chocolate cake."
Vocabulary lists containing sinful
Way Off: Synonyms for "Wrong"
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American Street
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Evil
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Whether sinful passions or unconscious destructive urges, distracting attachments or visceral impulses, desire is the daemon that makes us act, often against our own interests and those of others.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Behavioural science can also impact your choice on more sinful things too.
From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026
The South Carolina secession convention declared the state was leaving the Union because northerners “have denounced as sinful the institution of slavery.”
From Slate • Sep. 24, 2025
In its day, the Feb. 1, 1922, unsolved murder of director William Desmond Taylor left Americans both fascinated and morally high-horsing about those sinful Hollywood people.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2024
No longer set apart for being sinful, I felt that I could breathe again, live again, that I had been released from a prison.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
