sinister
Americanadjective
-
threatening or portending evil, harm, or trouble; ominous.
a sinister remark.
- Synonyms:
- portentous, inauspicious
- Antonyms:
- benign
-
bad, evil, base, or wicked; fell.
his sinister purposes.
-
unfortunate; disastrous; unfavorable.
a sinister accident.
- Synonyms:
- unlucky
- Antonyms:
- favorable
-
of or on the left side; left.
-
Heraldry. noting the side of an escutcheon or achievement of arms that is to the left of the bearer (opposed to dexter).
adjective
-
threatening or suggesting evil or harm; ominous
a sinister glance
-
evil or treacherous, esp in a mysterious way
-
(usually postpositive) heraldry of, on, or starting from the left side from the bearer's point of view and therefore on the spectator's right
-
archaic located on the left side
-
archaic (of signs, omens, etc) unfavourable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sinister
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin: “on the left hand or side,” hence, “unfavorable, injurious”
Explanation
People who are left-handed might feel unlucky having to use a desk designed for right-handers, but there probably wasn't any sinister, or evil, intent behind the design. Or was there? In the 15th century, when the word sinister came into use in English, people who were left-handed were thought to be bad luck or even evil. In his play Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote of the villain holding a human skull in his sinister — i.e., left — hand. It would seem to be sinister, or wicked, enough to see a human skull in the right hand, not to mention unlucky for the person missing a head in the first place.
Vocabulary lists containing sinister
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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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.
Events this year will include Killieween’s Sinister Circus - a circus-themed trail with performers, acrobats and clowns - the Kilmarnock Halloween Running Festival and Kilmarnock Fire Station’s extravaganza, featuring live music, food and games.
From BBC • Oct. 25, 2024
Under the civil consent agreement, Sinister Diesel is also prohibited from making or selling any more defeat devices, and from transferring intellectual property that would allow another company to make and sell such devices.
From Washington Times • Aug. 3, 2023
Sinister agreed to pay a $500,000 criminal fine and another $500,000 to settle a federal civil case.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 1, 2023
Also known as Sergei Kravinoff, Kraven prefers to hunt using his bare hands and is a founding member of the Sinister Six supervillain group.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2023
Sinister appearances; some strange, furtive glance seemed cast upon the beholder through that obscure mass up-piled.
From Toilers of the Sea by Hugo, Victor
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.
