Derived from hamartano (G264, "to sin, to miss the mark"), hamartolos describes one characterized by sin — a sinner — or in adjectival form, something sinful. In the Gospels it often describes social outcasts deemed morally corrupt by Jewish religious standards. Jesus was famously accused of associating with hamartolos.
The Pharisees used hamartolos as a social weapon of exclusion. Jesus redefined the category: all humanity is hamartolos (Romans 3:23), and He came specifically for the sick, not the well (Mark 2:17). Paul's climactic declaration — "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15) — shows that hamartolos is not a barrier to grace but the very qualification for it. The label does not disqualify; it describes who Jesus seeks.