Sinister

//ˈsɪnɪstə// adj

adj ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Inauspicious, ominous, unlucky, illegitimate (as in bar sinister).

    "All the several ills that visit earth, Brought forth by night, with a sinister birth."

  2. 2
    Evil or seemingly evil; indicating lurking danger or harm.

    "sinister influences"

  3. 3
    Of the left side. archaic

    "my Mothers bloud Runs on the dexter checke, and this ſiniſter Bounds in my fathers:"

  4. 4
    On the left side of a shield from the wearer's standpoint, and the right side to the viewer.

    "The shield was divided into five, with two coats of arms on the dexter side (the right-hand side from the point of view of the bearer of the shield)—London and Southampton—and three on the sinister side—Salisbury, Winchester and Portsmouth."

  5. 5
    Wrong, as springing from indirection or obliquity; perverse; dishonest. obsolete

    "Nimble and sinister tricks and shifts."

Adjective
  1. 1
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments wordnet
  2. 2
    on or starting from the wearer's left wordnet
  3. 3
    stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
evilsinistralthreateningbalefulsullenabandoned

Example

More examples

"The most famous painting in the exposition depicted a starry sky with bats flying over it. It was a little sinister."

Etymology

From Middle English sinistre (“unlucky”), from Old French senestre, sinistre (“left”), from Latin sinister (“left hand”).

Related phrases

bar sinisterbaton sinisterbend sinistersinister aspectsinister chief

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.