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deadly sin

deadly sin

8 8.1
A very serious wrong action in Christian belief that leads to spiritual death unless you ask for forgiveness
  • noun
  • /ˈdɛdli sɪn/
  • Formal
translation icon : pecado mortal
  • According to religious teachings, wrath is categorized as a deadly sin that requires repentance.
  • the seven deadly sins
  • the deadly sin of pride
  • the deadly sin of lust

The third deadly sin is lust.

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Examples

  • Envy is a deadly sin, Mary!

  • Envy is one of the deadly sins.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Our first series, if I may say that, will be on the Seven Deadly Sins in our Times.

  • Well, although the seven deadly sins are not in the Bible, the term originated with the Doctors of the Church.

    Blog text (33)
  • Many times it is out of jealousy or envy, which are deadly sins.

    Blog text (22)
  • The second deadly sin is greed, or covetousness.

  • That's one of the seven deadly sins: sloth, failure to utilize your talents and gifts.

  • He passes by all the writhing souls in torment paying for their deadly sins.

  • Lying is considered one of the seven deadly sins that can separate us from spiritual grace.

  • Many believe that greed is a deadly sin that can lead to one's downfall if not addressed.

Synonyms

mortal sin
vsdeadly sin
  • Specialized
13 8.2

Very serious wrongdoing in Christian belief that stops God from forgiving you unless you say you are sorry

is a grave offense causing spiritual death unless repented rather than unpardonable

Antonyms

259 3.8

A good personal quality like honesty or kindness

236 3.9

Kindness and forgiveness shown to someone who has not earned it

How Serious

deadly sin
  • Formal
8 8.1
sin
776 2.5
venial sin
  • Specialized
2 8.9
indiscretion
38 7.3

Surface Forms

deadly sin singular
deadly sins plural

Morphology

deadly + sin

The compound is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: a learner who knows 'deadly' (causing death/very serious) and 'sin' (wrongdoing) will naturally infer a sin that is extremely serious or causally linked to death (understood metaphorically as spiritual death). This reading is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'pecado mortal'), so a B1 learner who knows the parts will typically grasp the intended meaning.

Etymology

The phrase deadly sin comes from old church teaching. A sin called deadly was thought to make the soul 'dead' to God, so the phrase now means a very serious sin.