--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sin has always been an ugly word, but it…" description: "\"Sin has always been an ugly word, but it has been made so in a new sense over the last half-century. It has been made not only ugly but pass?. People a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f5/phyllis-mcginley-4467_century_sin-has-always-been-an-ugly-word-but-it_484040.png" --- # Sin has always been an ugly word, but it has been made so… ![“Sin has always been an ugly word, but it has been made so in a new sense over the last half-century. It has been made not only ugly but pass?. People are no longer sinful, they are only immature or underprivileged or frightened or, more particularly, sick.” quote by Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f5/phyllis-mcginley-4467_century_sin-has-always-been-an-ugly-word-but-it_484040.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f5/phyllis-mcginley-4467_century_sin-has-always-been-an-ugly-word-but-it_484040.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f5/phyllis-mcginley-4467_century_sin-has-always-been-an-ugly-word-but-it_484040.png) > “Sin has always been an ugly word, but it has been made so in a new sense over the last half-century. It has been made not only ugly but pass?. People are no longer sinful, they are only immature or underprivileged or frightened or, more particularly, sick.” [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The word “sin” has been redefined, shifting blame from moral failing to social or psychological conditions. **In simple terms:** Sin is now seen as a symptom, not a moral flaw. Key Takeaway Recognize how language reshapes moral judgments. Themes morality language societal change Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - public discourse - education - mental health counseling - media analysis Key Concepts semantic shift psychology social stigma Questions to Reflect On - How does redefining sin affect accountability? - What are the benefits and risks of this linguistic shift? A Different Perspective The new framing may obscure personal responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Immature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immature/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Underprivileged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underprivileged/) ## Related quotes > [People are no longer sinful, they are only immature or underprivileged or frightened or, more particularly, sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/people-are-no-longer-sinful-they-are-only-immature-or-underprivileged/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [“Snatch is an ugly word,” I say. “Like it’s going to rip my dick off. Yeah—that is an ugly motherfucking word. But pussy? It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pella-grace/snatch-is-an-ugly-word-i-say-like-it-s-going-to-rip-my-dick-off-yeah/) [Pella Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pella-grace/) > ['Fecundity' is an ugly word for an ugly subject. It is ugly, at least, in the eggy animal world. I don't think it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/fecundity-is-an-ugly-word-for-an-ugly-subject-it-is-ugly-at-least-in/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Maybe I could just James Bond my way down the cable if I draped the scarf over it, clinging to the ends as my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/maybe-i-could-just-james-bond-my-way-down-the-cable-if-i-draped-the/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [A lover would find life less broken apart after a misguided love affair if they could feel that they had been sinful rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/a-lover-would-find-life-less-broken-apart-after-a-misguided-love/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [I cannot see myself as a wife. Ugly word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/i-cannot-see-myself-as-a-wife-ugly-word/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) > [As long as we're here, we are the occupying power. It's a very ugly word, but it's true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bremer/as-long-as-we-re-here-we-are-the-occupying-power-it-s-a-very-ugly/) [Paul Bremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bremer/) > [“Insane is such an ugly word, a voice in my head said. Think of it as obtaining a new look at reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/insane-is-such-an-ugly-word-a-voice-in-my-head-said-think-of-it-as/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“Humanity was an ugly word when such cruelty was inflicted on one another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayendra-abeywardane/humanity-was-an-ugly-word-when-such-cruelty-was-inflicted-on-one/) [Gayendra Abeywardane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayendra-abeywardane/) > [“To call such persons "humorists", a loose-fitting and ugly word, is to miss the nature of their dilemma and the dilemma of their nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/to-call-such-persons-humorists-a-loose-fitting-and-ugly-word-is-to/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [Ugly is a word that should only be used to describe sin and never used to describe people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/ugly-is-a-word-that-should-only-be-used-to-describe-sin-and-never/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I think the word 'blog' is an ugly word. I just don't know why people can't use the word 'journal.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-think-the-word-blog-is-an-ugly-word-i-just-don-t-know-why-people/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Isn't weird just an ugly word for different?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-santinello/isn-t-weird-just-an-ugly-word-for-different/) [James Santinello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-santinello/) > [“Nonviolence is supremely the weapon of the dispossessed, the underprivileged, and the egalitarian, not those who are still addicted to private profit, commercial values,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-t-dellinger/nonviolence-is-supremely-the-weapon-of-the-dispossessed-the/) [David T. Dellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-t-dellinger/) > [Too much is made for us; too much is given to us - even those of us who are underprivileged. The poverty is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/too-much-is-made-for-us-too-much-is-given-to-us-even-those-of-us-who/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) ## More by Phyllis McGinley > [The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. It is in the wildness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-saints-differ-from-us-in-their-exuberance-the-excess-of-our-human/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Tomorrow will come and today will pass, / But the hearts of the young are brittle as glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/tomorrow-will-come-and-today-will-pass-but-the-hearts-of-the-young/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Borrow my umbrellas, my clothes, my money, and I will likely not think of them again. But borrow my books and I will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/borrow-my-umbrellas-my-clothes-my-money-and-i-will-likely-not-think/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [The Enemy, who wears her mother's usual face and confidential tone, has access; doubtless stares into her writing case and listens on the phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-enemy-who-wears-her-mother-s-usual-face-and-confidential-tone-has/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [God know that a mother need fortitude and courage and tolerance and flexibility and patience and firmness and nearly every other brave aspect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/god-know-that-a-mother-need-fortitude-and-courage-and-tolerance-and/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [The trouble with gardening is that it does not remain an avocation. It becomes an obsession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-trouble-with-gardening-is-that-it-does-not-remain-an-avocation-it/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [The thing to remember about fathers is, they're men. A girl has to keep it in mind: They are dragon seekers, bent on improbable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-thing-to-remember-about-fathers-is-they-re-men-a-girl-has-to-keep/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Not reading poetry amounts to a national pastime here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/not-reading-poetry-amounts-to-a-national-pastime-here/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Sisters are always drying their hair. Locked into rooms, alone, they pose at the mirror, shoulders bare, trying this way and that their hair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/sisters-are-always-drying-their-hair-locked-into-rooms-alone-they/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [What in me is pure conviction is simple prejudice in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/what-in-me-is-pure-conviction-is-simple-prejudice-in-you/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Of course we women gossip on occasion. But our appetite for it is not as avid as a man s. It is in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/of-course-we-women-gossip-on-occasion-but-our-appetite-for-it-is-not/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Marriage was all a woman's idea and for man's acceptance of the pretty yoke, it becomes us to be grateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/marriage-was-all-a-woman-s-idea-and-for-man-s-acceptance-of-the/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [“But the kitchen will not come into its own again until it ceases to be a status symbol and becomes again a workshop. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/but-the-kitchen-will-not-come-into-its-own-again-until-it-ceases-to/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Those wearing Tolerance for a label call other views intolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/those-wearing-tolerance-for-a-label-call-other-views-intolerable/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Shunning the upstart shower, / The cold and cursory scrub, / I celebrate the power / That lies within the Tub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/shunning-the-upstart-shower-the-cold-and-cursory-scrub-i-celebrate/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) [Explore all 110 Phyllis McGinley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sin has always been an ugly word, but it has been made so in a new sense over the last half-century. 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