Meanings
sinner1
nounsinner (plural sinners)
plural sinners
- A person who sins or has sinned.
- A person who, by one particular action, has sinned.
Some Christians believe the Bible tells us that homosexuals are sinners. The current trend of increased acceptance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community is distressing to these Christians who sincerely want to follow the Bible.
2016, Janet Edmonds, The Bible Doesn’t Say That Homosexuality is a Sin
- broadlyfigurativelyA person with negative qualities; one who does bad things.
- broadlyfigurativelyOne who lives a hedonist life; a self-indulgent person.
Are you a sinner or a saint?
Sinner2
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁es-
- Proto-Germanic*sunjō
- Proto-West Germanic*sunnju
- Old Englishsynn
- Old Englishsynniġ
- Old Englishsyngian
- Middle Englishsyngen
- Middle Englishsynnen
- Middle Englishsynnere
- Englishsinner
From Middle English synnere, equivalent to sin + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Säänder (“sinner”), West Frisian sûnder (“sinner”), Dutch zondaar (“sinner”), German Low German Sünder, Sünner (“sinner”), German Sünder (“sinner”), Danish synder (“sinner”), Swedish syndare (“sinner”), Icelandic syndari (“sinner”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἁμαρτωλός
- ἁμαρτωλός (hamartōlós)person who has sinned
Arabic خَاطِئ, خَاطِئَة
- خَاطِئ (ḵāṭiʔ)person who has sinned
- خَاطِئَة (ḵāṭiʔa)person who has sinned
- آثِم (ʔāṯim)person who has sinned
- آثِمَة (ʔāṯima)person who has sinned
- عَاصٍ (ʕāṣin)person who has sinned
- عَاصِيَة (ʕāṣiya)person who has sinned
Bengali পাপী
- পাপী (papi)person who has sinned
Bulgarian гре́шник, гре́шница
- гре́шник (gréšnik)person who has sinned
- гре́шница (gréšnica)person who has sinned
Catalan pecador, pecadora
- pecadorperson who has sinned
- pecadoraperson who has sinned
Chinese Cantonese 罪人
- 罪人 (zeoi⁶ jan⁴)person who has sinned
Chinese Mandarin 罪人
- 罪人 (zuìrén)person who has sinned
Czech hříšník, hříšnice
- hříšníkperson who has sinned
- hříšniceperson who has sinned
Danish synder
- synderperson who has sinned
Dutch zondaar, zondares
- zondaarperson who has sinned
- zondaresperson who has sinned
Esperanto pekanto
- pekantoperson who has sinned
Estonian patune, patustaja
- patuneperson who has sinned
- patustajaperson who has sinned
Finnish syntinen
- syntinenperson who has sinned
French pécheur, pécheresse
- pécheurperson who has sinned
- pécheresseperson who has sinned
German Sünder, Sünderin
- Sünderperson who has sinned
- Sünderinperson who has sinned
Greek αμαρτωλός
- αμαρτωλός (amartolós)person who has sinned
Hebrew חוֹטֵא, חוטאת
- חוֹטֵא (khoté)person who has sinned
- חוטאת (khotét)person who has sinned
Hindi पापी, विधर्मी
- पापी (pāpī)person who has sinned
- विधर्मी (vidharmī)person who has sinned
- अधर्मी (adharmī)person who has sinned
- दुराचारी (durācārī)person who has sinned
- गुनहगार (gunahgār)person who has sinned
Hungarian bűnös, vétkes
- bűnösperson who has sinned
- vétkesperson who has sinned
Icelandic syndari
- syndariperson who has sinned
Irish peacach
- peacachperson who has sinned
Italian peccatore, peccatrice
- peccatoreperson who has sinned
- peccatriceperson who has sinned
Japanese 罪人
- 罪人person who has sinned
Korean 죄인
- 죄인 (joein)person who has sinned
Latin peccātor, peccāns
- peccātorperson who has sinned
- peccānsperson who has sinned
- peccātrīxperson who has sinned
Latvian grēcinieks, grēciniece
- grēcinieksperson who has sinned
- grēcinieceperson who has sinned
Lithuanian nusidėjėlis, nusidėjėlė
- nusidėjėlisperson who has sinned
- nusidėjėlėperson who has sinned
Malay orang berdosa
- orang berdosaperson who has sinned
Māori kaihara, whiro
- kaiharaperson who has sinned
- whiro(figuratively, by extension) A person with negative qualities
Norwegian Bokmål synder
- synderperson who has sinned
Polish grzesznik, grzesznica
- grzesznikperson who has sinned
- grzesznicaperson who has sinned
Portuguese pecador, pecadora
- pecadorperson who has sinned
- pecadoraperson who has sinned
Romanian păcătos, păcătoasă
- păcătosperson who has sinned
- păcătoasăperson who has sinned
Russian гре́шник, гре́шница
- гре́шник (gréšnik)person who has sinned
- гре́шница (gréšnica)person who has sinned
Scottish Gaelic peacach
- peacachperson who has sinned
Slovak hriešnik, hriešnica
- hriešnikperson who has sinned
- hriešnicaperson who has sinned
Spanish pecador, pecadora
- pecadorperson who has sinned
- pecadoraperson who has sinned
Swahili mwenye dhambi
- mwenye dhambiperson who has sinned
Swedish syndare
- syndareperson who has sinned
Tagalog makasalanan
- makasalananperson who has sinned
Thai คนบาป
- คนบาป (kon-bàap)person who has sinned
Turkish günahkâr
- günahkârperson who has sinned
Ukrainian грі́шник, грі́шниця
- грі́шник (hríšnyk)person who has sinned
- грі́шниця (hríšnycja)person who has sinned
Urdu گُناہ گار, پاپی
- گُناہ گار (gunāh gār)person who has sinned
- پاپی (pāpī)person who has sinned
- عاصی ('āsī)person who has sinned
Vietnamese tội nhân, người có tội
- tội nhânperson who has sinned
- người có tộiperson who has sinned
- người phạm tộiperson who has sinned
Welsh pechadur
- pechadurperson who has sinned
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sinner
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
APA
sinner. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinner
MLA
“sinner.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinner. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sinner,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinner.
Source: sinner on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.