Meanings
comparative more sinful · comparative sinfuller · superlative most sinful · superlative sinfullest
- colloquialdecadent (luxuriously self-indulgent)
I take a whiff of the most sincerely sinful cookies in the history of the world. It’s a recipe I saw in People magazine once at the dentist's office, and Dr. Segal would not approve of its ingredients (or maybe she would, in the interest of keeping her business afloat).
2018 April 10, Rachel Cohn, David Levithan, Sam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah, New York City: Random House, →ISBNSynonyms: epicurean, sybaritic, Babylonian, decadent, epicureal, epicurean, epicureous, epicurish
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveConstituting a sin; morally or religiously wrong; wicked; evil.
adjectivedecadent (luxuriously self-indulgent)
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecharacterized by iniquity; wicked because it is believed to be a sin
adjectivehaving committed unrighteous acts
adjectivefar more than usual or expected
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁es-
- Proto-Germanic*sunjō
- Proto-West Germanic*sunnju
- Old Englishsynn
- Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*pl̥h₁nós
- Proto-Germanic*fullaz
- Old Englishsynful
- Middle Englishsynful
- Englishsinful
From Middle English synful, senful, sunful, from Old English synful (“sinful, guilty, wicked, corrupt”), equivalent to sin + -ful. Compare Dutch zondevol (“sinful”), German sündevoll (“sinful”), Danish syndefuld (“sinful”), Swedish syndfull (“sinful”), Icelandic syndfullur (“sinful”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἁμαρτωλός, ἀλιτρός
- ἁμαρτωλός (hamartōlós)constituting sin
- ἀλιτρός (alitrós)constituting sin
Bulgarian грешен, греховен
- грешен (grešen)constituting sin
- греховен (grehoven)constituting sin
Catalan pecaminós
- pecaminósconstituting sin
Czech hříšný
- hříšnýconstituting sin
Danish syndig
- syndigconstituting sin
Dutch zondig
- zondigconstituting sin
Esperanto peka
- pekaconstituting sin
Finnish syntinen
- syntinenconstituting sin
French coupable, peccamineux
- coupableconstituting sin
- peccamineuxconstituting sin
German sündig, sündhaft
- sündigconstituting sin
- sündhaftconstituting sin
- frevelhaftconstituting sin
Hungarian bűnös
- bűnösconstituting sin
Icelandic syndugur
- syndugurconstituting sin
Italian corrotto, peccaminoso
- corrottoconstituting sin
- peccaminosoconstituting sin
Latin nefastus, sacrilegus
- nefastusconstituting sin
- sacrilegusconstituting sin
- peccātusconstituting sin
Māori whaihara
- whaiharaconstituting sin
Norwegian syndig
- syndigconstituting sin
Portuguese pecaminoso
- pecaminosoconstituting sin
Romanian păcătos
- păcătosconstituting sin
Russian гре́шный
- гре́шный (gréšnyj)constituting sin
Slovak hriešny
- hriešnyconstituting sin
Spanish pecaminoso
- pecaminosoconstituting sin
Swedish syndig
- syndigconstituting sin
Yiddish זינדיק
- זינדיק (zindik)constituting sin
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sinful
All rhymes →Cite this entry
sinful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinful
“sinful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinful. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sinful,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinful.
Source: sinful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.