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

Listings in these neighborhoods carry a proverbial scarlet letter as Palm Springs becomes a city of rentable homes versus nonrentable homes.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 1, 2024

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

From New York Times • Aug. 24, 2023

As he spoke, he laid his long forefinger on the scarlet letter, which forthwith seemed to scorch into Hester's breast, as if it had been red-hot.

From The Scarlet Letter by Foote, Mary Hallock