Adjacent Words

Sin definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SIN, n.
1. The voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Sin comprehends not action only, but neglect of known duty, all evil thoughts purposes, words and desires, whatever is contrary to God's commands or law. 1 John 3. Matthew 15. James 4. Sinner neither enjoy the pleasures of nor the peace of piety. Among divines, sin is original or actual. Actual sin, above defined, is the act of a moral agent in violating a known rule of duty. Original sin, as generally understood, is native depravity of heart to the divine will, that corruption of nature of deterioration of the moral character of man, which is supposed to be the effect of Adam's apostasy; and which manifests itself in moral agents by positive act of disobedience to the divine will, or by the voluntary neglect to comply with the express commands of God, which require that we should love God with all the heart and soul and strength and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. This native depravity or alienation of affections from God and his law, is supposed to be what the apostle calls the carnal mind or mindedness, which is enmity against God, and is therefore denominated sin or sinfulness. Unpardonable sin, or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, is supposed to be a malicious and obstinate rejection of Christ and the gospel plan of salvation, or a contemptuous resistance made to the influences and convictions of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12.
2. A sin-offering; an offering made to atone for sin. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. 2 Corinthians 5.
3. A man enormously wicked. [Not in use.]
4. Sin differs from crime, not in nature, but in application. That which is a crime against society, is sin against God.
SIN, v.i.
1. To depart voluntarily from the path of duty prescribed by God man; to violate the divine law in any particular, by actual transgression or by the neglect or non-observance of its injunctions; to violate any known rule of duty. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned. Psalms 51.
2. To offend against right, against men or society; to trespass. I an a man more sinn'd against than sinning. And who but wishes to invert the laws of order, sins against the' eternal cause.
SIN,for since, obsolete or vulgar.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: estrangement from god [syn: sin, sinfulness, wickedness]
2: an act that is regarded by theologians as a transgression of God's will [syn: sin, sinning]
3: ratio of the length of the side opposite the given angle to the length of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle [syn: sine, sin]
4: (Akkadian) god of the Moon; counterpart of Sumerian Nanna
5: the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet
6: violent and excited activity; "they began to fight like sin" [syn: sin, hell] v
1: commit a sin; violate a law of God or a moral law [syn: sin, transgress, trespass]
2: commit a faux pas or a fault or make a serious mistake; "I blundered during the job interview" [syn: drop the ball, sin, blunder, boob, goof]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English sinne, from Old English synn; akin to Old High German sunta sin and probably to Latin sont-, sons guilty, est is — more at is Date: before 12th century 1. a. an offense against religious or moral law b. an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible <it's a sin to waste food> c. an often serious shortcoming ; fault 2. a. transgression of the law of God b. a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God Synonyms: see offense II. intransitive verb (sinned; sinning) Date: before 12th century 1. to commit a sin 2. to commit an offense or fault III. noun Etymology: Hebrew ?in Date: circa 1823 the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet — see alphabet table IV. abbreviation sine

Britannica Concise

Wrongdoing, particularly the breaking of moral or religious rules. In the Old Testament, sin is viewed as a hatred of God or defiance of his commandments. The New Testament regards sinfulness as the inherent state of humanity, which Jesus came into the world to heal. Christian theologians divide sin into actual and original sin. Actual sin, consisting of evil acts, words, and deeds, is in turn divided into mortal sin, in which the perpetrator deliberately turns away from God, and venial sin, a less serious transgression committed without full awareness of wrongdoing. In Islam, sin is a straying from God's path; the prophets were sent to guide people back to the true path. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the good and evil deeds one commits in this life affect one's rebirth in the next. In Mesopotamian religion, the god of the moon. He was the father of Shamash and, in some myths, of Ishtar. Sin was thought to confer fertility and prosperity on cowherds by governing the rise of waters and the growth of reeds, particularly in the marshes along the lower Euphrates River, where his worship originated. In the 6th cent. BC, attempts were made to elevate Sin to a supreme position in the Babylonian pantheon. Wrongdoing, particularly the breaking of moral or religious rules. In the Old Testament, sin is viewed as a hatred of God or defiance of his commandments. The New Testament regards sinfulness as the inherent state of humanity, which Jesus came into the world to heal. Christian theologians divide sin into actual and original sin. Actual sin, consisting of evil acts, words, and deeds, is in turn divided into mortal sin, in which the perpetrator deliberately turns away from God, and venial sin, a less serious transgression committed without full awareness of wrongdoing. In Islam, sin is a straying from God's path; the prophets were sent to guide people back to the true path. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the good and evil deeds one commits in this life affect one's rebirth in the next. In Mesopotamian religion, the god of the moon. He was the father of Shamash and, in some myths, of Ishtar. Sin was thought to confer fertility and prosperity on cowherds by governing the rise of waters and the growth of reeds, particularly in the marshes along the lower Euphrates River, where his worship originated. In the 6th cent. BC, attempts were made to elevate Sin to a supreme position in the Babylonian pantheon.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a the breaking of divine or moral law, esp. by a conscious act. b such an act. 2 an offence against good taste or propriety etc. --v. (sinned, sinning) 1 intr. commit a sin. 2 intr. (foll. by against) offend. 3 tr. archaic commit (a sin). Phrases and idioms: as sin colloq. extremely (ugly as sin). for one's sins joc. as a judgement on one for something or other. like sin colloq. vehemently or forcefully. live in sin colloq. live together without being married. sin bin colloq. 1 Ice Hockey a penalty box. 2 a place set aside for offenders of various kinds. Derivatives: sinless adj. sinlessly adv. sinlessness n. Etymology: OE syn(n) 2. abbr. sine.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sin Sin, adv., prep., & conj. Old form of Since. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Sin that his lord was twenty year of age. --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sin Sin, n. [OE. sinne, AS. synn, syn; akin to D. zonde, OS. sundia, OHG. sunta, G. s["u]nde, Icel., Dan. & Sw. synd, L. sons, sontis, guilty, perhaps originally from the p. pr. of the verb signifying, to be, and meaning, the one who it is. Cf. Authentic, Sooth.] 1. Transgression of the law of God; disobedience of the divine command; any violation of God's will, either in purpose or conduct; moral deficiency in the character; iniquity; as, sins of omission and sins of commission. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. --John viii. 34. Sin is the transgression of the law. --1 John iii. 4. I think 't no sin. To cozen him that would unjustly win. --Shak. Enthralled By sin to foul, exorbitant desires. --Milton. 2. An offense, in general; a violation of propriety; a misdemeanor; as, a sin against good manners. I grant that poetry's a crying sin. --Pope. 3. A sin offering; a sacrifice for sin. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. --2 Cor. v. 21. 4. An embodiment of sin; a very wicked person. [R.] Thy ambition, Thou scarlet sin, robbed this bewailing land Of noble Buckingham. --Shak. Note: Sin is used in the formation of some compound words of obvious signification; as, sin-born; sin-bred, sin-oppressed, sin-polluted, and the like. Actual sin, Canonical sins, Original sin, Venial sin. See under Actual, Canonical, etc. Deadly, or Mortal, sins (R. C. Ch.), willful and deliberate transgressions, which take away divine grace; -- in distinction from vental sins. The seven deadly sins are pride, covetousness, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy, and sloth. Sin eater, a man who (according to a former practice in England) for a small gratuity ate a piece of bread laid on the chest of a dead person, whereby he was supposed to have taken the sins of the dead person upon himself. Sin offering, a sacrifice for sin; something offered as an expiation for sin. Syn: Iniquity; wickedness; wrong. See Crime.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sin Sin, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sinned; p. pr. & vb. n. Sinning.] [OE. sinnen, singen, sinegen, AS. syngian. See Sin, n.] 1. To depart voluntarily from the path of duty prescribed by God to man; to violate the divine law in any particular, by actual transgression or by the neglect or nonobservance of its injunctions; to violate any known rule of duty; -- often followed by against. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned. --Ps. li. 4. All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. --Rom. iii. 23. 2. To violate human rights, law, or propriety; to commit an offense; to trespass; to transgress. I am a man More sinned against than sinning. --Shak. Who but wishes to invert the laws Of order, sins against the eternal cause. --Pope.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sins, sinning, sinned) 1. Sin or a sin is an action or type of behaviour which is believed to break the laws of God. The Vatican's teaching on abortion is clear: it is a sin... N-VAR see also cardinal sin, mortal sin 2. If you sin, you do something that is believed to break the laws of God. The Spanish Inquisition charged him with sinning against God and man... You have sinned and must repent your ways. VERB: V against n, V • sinner (sinners) I am a sinner and I need to repent of my sins. N-COUNT 3. A sin is any action or behaviour that people disapprove of or consider morally wrong. The ultimate sin was not infidelity, but public mention which led to scandal. N-COUNT 4. If you say that a man and a woman are living in sin, you mean that they are living together as a couple although they are not married. (OLD-FASHIONED) She was living in sin with her boyfriend. PHRASE: V inflects 5. a multitude of sins: see multitude

Hitchcock Bible Dictionary

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Easton's Bible Dictionary

is "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God" (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom. 6:12-17; 7:5-24). It is "not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offence against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties. The soul that sins is always conscious that his sin is (1) intrinsically vile and polluting, and (2) that it justly deserves punishment, and calls down the righteous wrath of God. Hence sin carries with it two inalienable characters, (1) ill-desert, guilt (reatus); and (2) pollution (macula).", Hodge's Outlines.

The moral character of a man's actions is determined by the moral state of his heart. The disposition to sin, or the habit of the soul that leads to the sinful act, is itself also sin (Rom. 6:12-17; Gal. 5:17; James 1:14, 15).

The origin of sin is a mystery, and must for ever remain such to us. It is plain that for some reason God has permitted sin to enter this world, and that is all we know. His permitting it, however, in no way makes God the author of sin.

Adam's sin (Gen. 3:1-6) consisted in his yielding to the assaults of temptation and eating the forbidden fruit. It involved in it, (1) the sin of unbelief, virtually making God a liar; and (2) the guilt of disobedience to a positive command. By this sin he became an apostate from God, a rebel in arms against his Creator. He lost the favour of God and communion with him; his whole nature became depraved, and he incurred the penalty involved in the covenant of works.

Original sin. "Our first parents being the root of all mankind, the guilt of their sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature were conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation." Adam was constituted by God the federal head and representative of all his posterity, as he was also their natural head, and therefore when he fell they fell with him (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:22-45). His probation was their probation, and his fall their fall. Because of Adam's first sin all his posterity came into the world in a state of sin and condemnation, i.e., (1) a state of moral corruption, and (2) of guilt, as having judicially imputed to them the guilt of Adam's first sin.

"Original sin" is frequently and properly used to denote only the moral corruption of their whole nature inherited by all men from Adam. This inherited moral corruption consists in, (1) the loss of original righteousness; and (2) the presence of a constant proneness to evil, which is the root and origin of all actual sin. It is called "sin" (Rom. 6:12, 14, 17; 7:5-17), the "flesh" (Gal. 5:17, 24), "lust" (James 1:14, 15), the "body of sin" (Rom. 6:6), "ignorance," "blindness of heart," "alienation from the life of God" (Eph. 4:18, 19). It influences and depraves the whole man, and its tendency is still downward to deeper and deeper corruption, there remaining no recuperative element in the soul. It is a total depravity, and it is also universally inherited by all the natural descendants of Adam (Rom. 3:10-23; 5:12-21; 8:7). Pelagians deny original sin, and regard man as by nature morally and spiritually well; semi-Pelagians regard him as morally sick; Augustinians, or, as they are also called, Calvinists, regard man as described above, spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1; 1 John 3:14).

The doctrine of original sin is proved, (1.) From the fact of the universal sinfulness of men. "There is no man that sinneth not" (1 Kings 8:46; Isa. 53:6; Ps. 130:3; Rom. 3:19, 22, 23; Gal. 3:22). (2.) From the total depravity of man. All men are declared to be destitute of any principle of spiritual life; man's apostasy from God is total and complete (Job 15:14-16; Gen. 6:5,6). (3.) From its early manifestation (Ps. 58:3; Prov. 22:15). (4.) It is proved also from the necessity, absolutely and universally, of regeneration (John 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:17). (5.) From the universality of death (Rom. 5:12-20).

Various kinds of sin are mentioned, (1.) "Presumptuous sins," or as literally rendered, "sins with an uplifted hand", i.e., defiant acts of sin, in contrast with "errors" or "inadvertencies" (Ps. 19:13). (2.) "Secret", i.e., hidden sins (19:12); sins which escape the notice of the soul. (3.) "Sin against the Holy Ghost" (q.v.), or a "sin unto death" (Matt. 12:31, 32; 1 John 5:16), which amounts to a wilful rejection of grace.

Sin, a city in Egypt, called by the Greeks Pelusium, which means, as does also the Hebrew name, "clayey" or "muddy," so called from the abundance of clay found there. It is called by Ezekel (Ezek. 30:15) "the strength of Egypt, "thus denoting its importance as a fortified city. It has been identified with the modern Tineh, "a miry place," where its ruins are to be found. Of its boasted magnificence only four red granite columns remain, and some few fragments of others.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Offence (against the divine law), transgression, iniquity, unrighteousness, wickedness, moral depravity, wrong, delinquency. 2. Offence, transgression. II. v. n. Trespass, do wrong, transgress.

Moby Thesaurus

aberrancy, aberration, abomination, atrocity, bad, breach, commit sin, crime, crime against humanity, criminal tendency, criminality, criminosis, deadly sin, debt, defectiveness, deficiency, delinquency, delusion, demerit, dereliction, deviancy, diablerie, disgrace, distortion, do amiss, do wrong, enormity, err, errancy, erroneousness, error, evil, evil courses, evildoing, failure, fallaciousness, fallacy, falseness, falsity, fault, faultiness, feloniousness, felony, flaw, flawedness, genocide, guilty act, hamartia, heavy sin, heresy, heterodoxy, illusion, impropriety, indiscretion, inexpiable sin, infamy, iniquity, injury, injustice, knavery, lapse, lawbreaking, malefaction, malfeasance, malpractice, malum, malversation, minor wrong, misapplication, misconduct, misconstruction, misdeed, misdemeanor, misdoing, misfeasance, misinterpretation, misjudgment, misprision, misprision of treason, mortal sin, nonfeasance, obliquity, offend, offense, omission, outrage, peccadillo, peccancy, perversion, positive misprision, reprobacy, scandal, self-contradiction, shame, shortcoming, sin of commission, sin of omission, sinful act, sinfulness, slip, thou scarlet sin, tort, transgress, transgression, trespass, trip, unorthodoxy, untrueness, untruth, untruthfulness, unutterable sin, venial sin, vice, viciousness, villainy, wickedness, wrong, wrong conduct, wrongdoing, wrongness