Sunni
Americannoun
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Also called Sunnite. a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam, regarding the first four caliphs as legitimate successors of Muhammad and stressing the importance of Sunna as a basis for law.
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(used with a plural verb) the Sunni Muslims.
noun
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one of the two main branches of orthodox Islam (the other being the Shiah), consisting of those who acknowledge the authority of the Sunna
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another term for Sunnite
Other Word Forms
- Sunnism noun
Etymology
Origin of Sunni
1620–30; < Arabic sunnī, derivative of sunnah Sunna
Compare meaning
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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.
Despite a shared enmity for the United States and Israel, the Shiite and Sunni militias are bitter sectarian foes.
From Los Angeles Times
He was influenced by Sayyid Qutb, the Sunni Egyptian theoretician of the Muslim Brotherhood who propagated the idea of an Islamic Republic.
Clashes erupted last July in southern Syria between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes.
From Barron's
The government's offensive against Al-Shabaab emulated the "Sunni Awakening" strategy of the United States in Iraq in the 2000s, when it backed Sunni Arab tribes against Al-Qaeda.
From Barron's
The Lebanese nationals living in Syria had retained their citizenship, but made the area around Qusayr their home, living and working alongside local Sunni residents.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
