noun / verb

sin

SIN/sɪn/

An act that violates religious or moral law.

Stealing the unsuspecting woman's wallet is a sin against the duty of honesty.

A pickpocket secretly removes a wallet from an unsuspecting woman's shoulder bag, depicting a concrete act of moral wrongdoing.

Etymology

sinOld Englishmoral wrongdoing, offense against God

Old English synn already covered offenses against God as well as guilt and misdeeds. The modern religious or moral sense continues that association between wrongdoing and culpability.

In context

Ligonier Ministries7:16

God will not wink at sin. God will not simply pass over it without exacting a punishment for it.

Crucifixion: What Did Jesus Do? - Understanding the Work of Christ with R.C. Sproul

More examples

He asks forgiveness for the sins he has committed.
They believe that anyone who steals from a neighbor sins.
She worries that she has sinned by breaking her promise.

Forms

sin · sins · sinned · sinning

sinner noun — A person who commits a sin.

sinful adjective — Violating religious or moral law.

Similar words

wrongdoing: Wrongdoing covers improper behavior without necessarily invoking religious law.
transgression: Transgression emphasizes crossing a moral boundary or breaking a rule.
vice: Vice usually describes a lasting moral fault, not one act.