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I'm looking for a synonym for "total", as in sum of multiple of parts, but with a negative connotation. The context is that a man finds all his sins combined—his total—in tangible form.
My first thought was culmination, but it doesn't have negative connotation. Any suggestions? What other words would work here?
A word for the sum of all your sins? "burden" has a somewhat negative connotation and is used figuratively.
- "burden" - (noun) something that is emotionally difficult to bear.
or if you mean your liability to sin, "peccability" may fit.
- peccability - capability of sinning; the common peccability of mankind.
With actual crimes it's called a rap sheet. Maybe you can use that.
And there, on the table, he found the rap sheet of his sins.
For your specific use ("a man finds all his sins combined—his total—in tangible form"), I think manifestation would work perfectly.
Consider the various meanings of "manifestation" (from thefreedictionary.com):
- An indication of the existence, reality, or presence of something
- One of the forms in which someone or something, such as a person, a divine being, or an idea, is revealed
- The materialized form of a spirit
Note that "manifestation" (and the verb "manifest") often have an otherwordly/supernatural connotation (e.g. the manifestation of a ghost, spirit, deity, etc.) that would mesh well with a person seeing their sins in a tangible form.
On top of that, for the noun "manifest," we have (also from thefreedictionary.com):
- A list of cargo or passengers carried on a ship or plane.
- An invoice of goods carried on a truck or train.
This meaning of "manifest" as a list (invoice) of items (goods, cargo, passengers, sins) carried can rather neatly be applied to the "total/combined sum" of his sins--his sinvoice, if you will. Furthermore, there is a common notion in many religions of "carrying one's sin."
Though "manifestation" lacks an overtly negative connotation, I believe it would work well in the context you described.
Rough example sentence, assuming that the sins have taken a person-like form:
When he opened his eyes, Chad was horrified to see the manifestation of his sins standing over him.
Consider the following:
"You are fettered," said Scrooge, trembling. "Tell me why?" "I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.” (A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, 1843)
Your question:
I'm looking for a synonym for "total", as in sum of multiple of parts, but with a negative connotation. The context is that a man finds all his sins combined — his total — in tangible form."
Given that, you might want to consider chains. The length and weight represent your "total"; the links and other attachments represent your "multiple of parts".
With regard to the OP's question:
I'm looking for a synonym for "total", as in sum of multiple of parts, but with a negative connotation. The context is that a man finds all his sins combined—his total—in tangible form.
According to Merriam-Webster:
sin: an offense against religious or moral law
moral: of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior
morality: beliefs about what is right behavior and what is wrong behavior
immoral: conflicting with generally or traditionally held moral principles
immorality: the quality or state of being immoral
Immoral and immorality certainly have negative connotations for those who believe in sin and hold beliefs about what is right behavior and what is wrong behavior, whatever their specific beliefs.
It would seem, then, that the more sins one has, and the more serious those sins are, the more immoral one is. So, perhaps:
The sum total of all one's sins is a measure of one's immorality.
or, simpler,
The sum total of all one's sins is one's immorality per se.
If this makes sense, one can think of one's immorality as a total sinfulness index (TSI). I suppose if one repents one's sins, one's TSI decreases accordingly.
