Meanings
nouncardinal sin (plural cardinal sins)
plural cardinal sins
- Any of the deadly sins.
- broadlyAny action that is highly discouraged within a particular field.
Some believe turning up with an iced matcha latte in hand is a cardinal sin. They say it's unprofessional, too informal, and a distraction.
2026 September 26, Jemma Crew, Daniel Thomas, “Could an iced coffee freeze you out of the job market?”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 26 Sep 2026, retrieved 26 Sep 2026
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Translations
Dutch hoofdzonde
- hoofdzondecardinal sin
Finnish kuolemansynti
- kuolemansynticardinal sin
French péché capital
- péché capitalcardinal sin
German Hauptsünde
- Hauptsündecardinal sin
Icelandic höfuðlöstur
- höfuðlösturcardinal sin
Irish peaca marfach, ceannpheaca
- peaca marfachcardinal sin
- ceannpheacacardinal sin
Polish grzech główny
- grzech głównycardinal sin
Swedish huvudsynd, kardinalsynd
- huvudsyndcardinal sin
- kardinalsyndcardinal sin
Cite this entry
APA
cardinal sin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cardinal%20sin
MLA
“cardinal sin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cardinal%20sin. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cardinal sin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cardinal%20sin.
Source: cardinal sin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.