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
- sinfully adverb
- sinfulness noun
- unsinful adjective
- unsinfully adverb
- unsinfulness noun
Etymology
Origin of sinful
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English synfull. See sin 1, -ful
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.
Behavioural science can also impact your choice on more sinful things too.
From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026
But when I left I tried to explain to him how I was feeling and my belief that my emotions weren't sinful.
From Salon • May 1, 2024
The Talmud instructs Jews that there are three things so sinful that the ancient rabbis decided one should prefer death to doing them: sex crimes, idol worship, and—last but most important—bloodshed.
From Slate • Oct. 17, 2023
“If you want God to forgive you for all your sins — and we are sinful … then you have to forgive others. That’s love one another and love thy enemy.”
From Washington Times • Oct. 4, 2023
If they said Bri needed to get out of the basement, it would be sinful to let pride interfere with good judgment.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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.
