venial sin
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.
In baseball, bunting to break up a perfect game is a mortal and not a venial sin.
From Washington Post • Nov. 13, 2020
A: I think the snooping for the box after having seen the email is completely understandable, or at the very least a venial sin.
From Slate • Feb. 21, 2018
That’s an awfully venial sin, and I think you’ll have to deal with your outsize feelings of grief on your own.
From Slate • Jul. 12, 2016
His self-absorption is at worst a venial sin, and his book's failings should be charged to its editor.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2015
So long as he meant to go away from Midlandshire without "doing any harm," he had thought it a venial sin to affect some little friendship for the husband of the woman he loved.
From The Doctor's Wife by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)