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.
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
It is not a scarlet letter enough for me that detestable owners are merely forced — or encouraged — to sell teams they ruined in myriad ways.
From Washington Post • Apr. 19, 2023
Nay, from the moment when we came down the old church steps together, a married pair, I might have beheld the bale-fire of that scarlet letter blazing at the end of our path!”
From The Scarlet Letter by Foote, Mary Hallock
