Definition of PECCADILLO

The Sinful History of Pecadillo

"The world loves a spice of wickedness." That observation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow may explain why people are so willing to forgive peccadilloes as youthful foolishness or lapses of judgment. The willingness to overlook petty faults and minor offenses existed long before English speakers borrowed a modified version of the Spanish pecadillo at the end of the 16th century. Spanish speakers distinguished the pecadillo, or "little sin," from the more serious pecado, their term for a sin of magnitude. And these Spanish terms can be traced back still further, to the Latin verb peccare, meaning "to sin."

Examples of peccadillo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But even the president, who has frequently praised the agency's work under Pruitt, came to the conclusion that the former Oklahoma attorney general's professional achievements were not worth the steady media drip of Pruitt's personal peccadilloes. — Ledyard King, USA TODAY, "Trump EPA chief Scott Pruitt resigns as ethical scandals mount," 5 July 2018 Their personal peccadilloes combined with their fawning attitude only enable them to come across as want to be ‘hep cats.’ That went away with Dobie Gillis. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "How hard will McCarthy go against Mueller?," 23 Apr. 2018 In exchange for these peccadilloes, listeners received two doses of pure excitement, two scenes in which zeal never flagged, the dramatic arch remained clear, and the orchestra displayed the full, glorious extent of its skill at high speed. — Zachary Lewis, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom surprises with Beethoven and delights with French delicacies (review)," 16 July 2017 Providing for your pets after you’re gone was once considered a peccadillo of the wealthy and the eccentric thanks to the occasional news story about a tabby that has inherited millions, or a Chihuahua who was left the family mansion. — Joan Morris, The Mercury News, "Planning for your pet for when you’re not around," 13 June 2017 Due to his obsession with media relations and personal peccadilloes, Trump now has managed to undermine any chance of developing a coherent program to restore dynamism in Middle America. — Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register, "What Trump has wrought," 21 May 2017 The particulars and peccadilloes from a coast become embedded in the tools that half of humanity now finds indispensable. — Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic, "The Weird Thing About Today's Internet," 16 May 2017 Studio execs worry that Depp's personal peccadilloes could impact the marketing of their $230 million-budget tentpole and future of a $3.7 billion box-office franchise. — Stephen Galloway, Billboard, "Johnny Depp: A Star in Crisis & The Insane Story of His 'Missing' Millions," 10 May 2017 Even his peccadilloes and dark side became heralded. — Steven Levy, WIRED, "Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011," 5 Oct. 2011

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'peccadillo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.