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
“But now I have, like, a scarlet letter and the medical stuff so even if I could go to work, my face would be doing gymnastics.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2024
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
Historically, climate advocacy as a scientist has been viewed by some as akin to a scarlet letter, a move that could jeopardize a researcher’s credibility or job.
From Washington Post • May 20, 2022
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
