Meaning & use
sin
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablereligion
An act, thought or habit that goes against a religious or moral law.
Grammar: Countable for a single act (a sin); uncountable for the idea in general.
Patterns
- a sin against someone
- confess a sin
- commit a sin
He confessed his sin to the priest.
Pride is listed among the seven deadly sins.
They believed that lying was a sin.
nounsingularinformalhumorous
Something that seems wasteful, shameful or very wrong, often used in a half-joking way.
Grammar: Often appears as it is a sin to or a sin that.
Patterns
- it is a sin to do something
It is a sin to waste good chocolate.
Leaving that car to rust would be a sin.
She said it was a sin to stay inside on a day like this.
verbintransitivereligion
To break a religious or moral law.
Grammar: No object; often followed by against: sin against God.
Patterns
- sin against someone
- sin against something
He felt he had sinned against his family.
The preacher warned that all people sin.
She was forgiven even though she had sinned.
Word forms
| plural | sins |
|---|---|
| third person singular | sins |
| past tense | sinned |
| past participle | sinned |
| -ing form | sinning |
Common combinations
- commit a sin
- He felt he had committed a sin.
- mortal sin
- In some traditions, murder is a mortal sin.
- original sin
- The sermon was about original sin.
- confess a sin
- She confessed her sin to a friend.
- live in sin
- The old saying warned against living in sin.
- cardinal sin
- Being late was a cardinal sin in the office.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wrongdoing
- Wrongdoing is a general word for any bad act and has no religious sense.
- vice
- Vice is a harmful habit or moral weakness, whereas sin is an act or state judged by religion.
- transgression
- Transgression is more formal and means breaking a rule or law.
- offense
- Offense is broader and covers both moral and legal wrongs.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sin or crime? sin or sign?
sin vs crime
A crime breaks the law of the state, while a sin breaks a religious or moral law; some acts are both, some only one.
sin vs sign
Sign has a g and means a signal or marker, not a wrong act.
Practice
Which statement best shows the difference between a sin and a crime?
Choose one answer.
Sin is a religious or moral idea; crime is a legal one. The other statements are not true: sins are not tried in court and sin is not limited to theft.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sin”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.