sin

1
[ sin ]
See synonyms for sin on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. transgression of divine law: the sin of Adam.

  2. any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.

  1. any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense: It's a sin to waste time.

verb (used without object),sinned, sin·ning.
  1. to commit a sinful act.

  2. to offend against a principle, standard, etc.

verb (used with object),sinned, sin·ning.
  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.

Origin of sin

1
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”; see origin at am

synonym study For sin

1, 2. See crime.

Other words for sin

Other words from sin

  • sinlike, adjective
  • sin·ning·ly, adverb
  • sin·ning·ness, noun
  • un·sin·ning, adjective

Other definitions for sin (2 of 5)

sin2
[ seen ]

noun
  1. the 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

  2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

Origin of sin

2
First recorded in 1895–1900; from Hebrew śīn

Other definitions for sin (3 of 5)

sin

abbreviationTrigonometry.

Other definitions for Sin (4 of 5)

Sin
[ seen ]

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

Other definitions for sīn (5 of 5)

sīn
[ seen ]

noun
  1. the 12th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

Origin of sīn

5
From Arabic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sin (1 of 5)

sin1

/ (sɪn) /


noun
  1. theol

    • transgression of God's known will or any principle or law regarded as embodying this

    • 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

  1. any offence against a principle or standard

  2. live in sin informal (of an unmarried couple) to live together

verbsins, sinning or sinned (intr)
  1. theol to commit a sin

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

Origin of sin

1
Old English synn; related to Old Norse synth, Old High German suntea sin, Latin sons guilty

Derived forms of sin

  • sinner, noun

British Dictionary definitions for sin (2 of 5)

sin2

/ (sɪn) /


preposition, conjunction, adverb
  1. a Scot dialect word for since

British Dictionary definitions for sin (3 of 5)

sin3

/ (siːn) /


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

British Dictionary definitions for sin (4 of 5)

sin4

/ (saɪn) maths /


abbreviation for
  1. sine

British Dictionary definitions for SIN (5 of 5)

SIN

abbreviation for(in Canada)
  1. social insurance number

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for sin

sin

  1. Abbreviation of sine

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with sin

sin

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

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.