Sunni

American  

[soon-ee] / ˈsʊn i /

noun

Islam.

1. Also called Sunnite.  a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam, regarding the first four caliphs as legitimate successors of Muhammad and stressing the importance of Sunna as a basis for law.

2. (used with a plural verb) the Sunni Muslims.

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Sunni British  

/ ˈsʌnɪ /

noun

1. one of the two main branches of orthodox Islam (the other being the Shiah), consisting of those who acknowledge the authority of the Sunna

2. another term for Sunnite

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Other Word Forms

• Sunnism noun

Etymology

Origin of Sunni

1620–30; < Arabic sunnī, derivative of sunnah Sunna

Compare meaning

How does sunni compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Sunni vs. Shiʿite

Example Sentences

An adherent of Wahhabism, a conservative and fundamentalist interpretation of Sunni Islam, he hopes to rally a population exhausted by over a decade of conflict.

From Barron's

Also since 1979, Saudi Arabia—the cradle of Islam—had used oil money to spread its own Sunni ultra-conservative version of the faith around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal

Iraq's new parliament elected a senior figure from the Sunni Taqadom party as its speaker Monday, the first session since November elections that consolidated the main parties' grip on power.

From Barron's

The South Asian nation of 170 million people -- the vast majority Sunni Muslims -- is preparing for its first election since a mass uprising toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina in 2024.

From Barron's

A year ago, the new masters of Damascus, like most of the armed rebels in Syria, were Sunni Islamists.

From BBC