scarlet letter

noun

: a scarlet A worn as a punitive mark of adultery

Examples of scarlet letter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
De-shame debt Debt, whether from student loans or credit cards, can feel like a scarlet letter. — Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024 Like the unnamed narrator who finds Hester Prynne’s scarlet letter in the Salem Custom House and then sets about telling her tale, Banks’s narrators are anonymous busybodies and town gossips, nosy neighbors or observers once removed from the action. — Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2024 The two medical students were surprised that in Chicago, adding ketchup could earn someone a scarlet letter. — Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024 But even those reactionaries to the shifting sensibilities are poised to arrive late at the party or have their shifts come across as insincere or forced to wear the scarlet letter of sellout. — Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2024 See All Example Sentences for scarlet letter

Word History

Etymology

from such a letter in the novel The Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scarlet letter was in 1850

Rhymes for scarlet letter

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scarlet letter
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Cite this Entry

“Scarlet letter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarlet%20letter. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

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