scarlet letter

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I believe he lived with a scarlet letter on him because of it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2025

Controversial newsmakers—Monica Lewinsky, Tonya Harding, Lorena Bobbitt among them—had the term pinioned to them like a scarlet letter, stripping away their accomplishments and leaving only scorned husks of their real selves.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2025

“You should not have to wear this scarlet letter of sorts that prevents you from participating in our most basic concept of democracy,” said Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat from Memphis.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 25, 2024

It is a permanent portrait of shame — the legal system’s scarlet letter.

From New York Times • Aug. 24, 2023

But, through the remainder of Hester's life, there were indications that the recluse of the scarlet letter was the object of love and interest with some inhabitant of another land.

From The Scarlet Letter by Foote, Mary Hallock