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

The pontiff arrived in Algeria on Monday, marking the first visit by any pope to the predominantly Sunni Muslim country.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

The Iranian experiment had a distinctly Shiite flavor, but Sunni Islamists instantly recognized its significance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Why shouldn’t that work in the Middle East, even if he can’t distinguish Sunni from Shia and doesn’t understand the basic geography of the region?

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026

Despite a shared enmity for the United States and Israel, the Shiite and Sunni militias are bitter sectarian foes.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026

We visited Baghdad, the U.S. military headquarters in Fallujah, and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit encampment outside Babil, in the heart of Iraq’s so-called Sunni Triangle.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman