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sin

B1
Common

Pronunciation

UK

    US

    • /ˈsɪn/

    Meanings

    Noun

    1. an act that violates divine or religious law

    2. a serious moral fault or shameful indulgence

    3. the sine function in trigonometry, written sin

    Verb

    1. to commit a sin or do something regarded as gravely wrong

    Beyond the definition

    "Sin" began as a religious word. It meant an act that went against God's will or divine law. That is still its main meaning today. But people also use it more loosely for serious moral wrongdoing, or even for something they feel a little guilty about. You might hear that betrayal is a sin against trust, or someone might jokingly call extra dessert a sin. The word usually carries a sense of blame, guilt, or broken moral rules.

    Examples

    1. 1

      Moral teaching

      Many children are taught that stealing is a sin.

    2. 2

      Personal guilt

      He felt guilty because he believed he had committed a serious sin.

    3. 3

      Religious confession

      She went to church to confess her sins.

    4. 4

      Character flaw

      Pride was seen as his greatest sin.

      • Phrasegreatest sin

        biggest fault or moral failure

    More examples
    1. 5

      Waste

      It would be a sin to waste all this good food.

      • Patterna sin to + verb

        a very bad or shameful thing to do

    2. 6

      Old-fashioned judgment

      Some people still disapprove of couples living in sin.

      • Usagelive in sin

        live together as a couple without being married; old-fashioned

    See also

    Similar

    Shades of meaning

    Contrast

    Used with (collocations)

    • commit a sin
    • confess one's sins
    • original sin
    • sin against

    Word family

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    Forms and spellings

    4 forms open this card.

    Main spelling

    • sinnounverb

    Forms

    • sinspluralnounverb
    • sinnedpast tenseverbnoun
    • sinning-ing formverbnoun