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Examples of black sheep in a Sentence
She was the black sheep of the family.
Recent Examples on the Web
Chambers describes his father as the family’s original black sheep and credits him as the person who first taught him to hate cops and distrust the wealthy.
—David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2024
Impulsive, artistic Ricki Wilde is the black sheep of her powerful Atlanta family.
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 20 Dec. 2023
Ricki’s story is a familiar one, a family black sheep who has let her family chip at her confidence for far too long.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
Does this mean that Adams' black sheep label is about to be erased?
—Lincee Ray, EW.com, 5 May 2023
The book, a National Book Award winner regarded both as maybe Roth’s greatest novel and his black sheep, is certainly his raunchiest and most transgressive.
—Marc Tracy, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023
This year alone has seen the sale of her famous black sheep jumper by Warm and Wonderful, which was bought in September for what was then a record $1.143 million (despite several moth holes!).
—Monique Jessen, Peoplemag, 19 Dec. 2023
At this point in Diana's royal life, anyone could guess who the black sheep was supposed to represent.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 27 June 2023
Chapman’s decision to support her daughter grew in part out of her own experience as a black sheep in a deeply religious family.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'black sheep.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1657, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to black sheep
Dictionary Entries Near black sheep
Cite this Entry
“Black sheep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/black%20sheep. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
black sheep
noun
: a person having a bad reputation in a group with a good reputation
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