sinister

ˈsɪnɪstər

Definition

Definition of sinister - Reverso English Dictionary

Adjective

threateningsuggesting evil or harm

The dark clouds looked sinister.

menacing

ominous

heraldry

Dated

on the left side in heraldry

Dated

The sinister side of the shield was marked.

left

left-hand

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Expressions with sinister

💡 Discover popular phrases, idioms, collocations, or phrasal verbs. Click any expression to learn more, listen to its pronunciation, or save it to your favorites.

sinister-looking

adj.

appearing scary, threatening, or likely to cause harm

The old house was sinister-looking at night.

bend sinister

diagonal band on a shield from top right to bottom left

The knight's shield displayed a prominent bend sinister..

bar sinister

heraldic symbol indicating illegitimacy

The noble's coat of arms had a bar sinister, marking a controversial ancestry.

Origin of sinister

Latin, sinister (left, unlucky)

Terms with sinister included in their meaning

💡 A powerful way to uncover related words, idioms, and expressions linked by the same idea — and explore meaning beyond exact word matches.

evil laugh

emotion

laugh indicating malicious joy or sinister intentions

dark

adj.

emotion

sinister or evil in nature

dark magic

fantasy

genre of fantasy involving sinister magic

darkest

adj.

evil

most evil or sinister

grimmer

adj.

emotion

more sinister or frightening

darker

adj.

mystery

more mysterious or sinister

darkly

adv.

morbidly

in a morbid or sinister way

baleful

adj.

mortal

deadly or sinister

Examples of sinister in a sentence

The abandoned house had a sinister reputation.
The lion was placed on the sinister side.
A star adorned the sinister side of the crest.

View all translations of sinister

✨Click below to see the appropriate translations facing each meaning.

French:sinistre, senestre, ...
German:unheilvoll, linke, ...
Italian:sinistro, ...
Spanish:siniestro, ...
Portuguese:ameaçador, esquerdo, ...
Chinese:不祥的, 左侧的, ...
Japanese:不吉な, 左側の, ...
Arabic:مُشْؤُوم, أَيْسَر, ...
Hebrew:מְאַיֵּם, שְׂמָאלִי, ...
Russian:зловещий, левый, ...
Ukrainian:зловісний, лівий, ...
Hindi:अशुभ, बाएँ, ...
Bengali:অশুভ, বাম, ...
Catalan:sinistre, esquerrà, ...
Czech:zlověstný, levý, ...
Danish:uhyggelig, venstre, ...
Dutch:dreigend, linker, ...
Greek:δυσοίωνος, αριστερός, ...
Hungarian:baljós, bal oldali, ...
Khmer:គួរឱ្យភ័យខ្លាច, នៅខាងឆ្វេងតាមទស្សនៈរបស់អ្នកកាន់ខែលក្នុងក្បួនសញ្ញាតំណាង, ...
Korean:불길한, 왼쪽의, ...
Persian:شوم, چپ, ...
Polish:złowieszczy, lewy, ...
Portuguese (BR):sinistro, esquerdo, ...
Romanian:sinistru, stâng, ...
Swedish:hotfull, vänster, ...
Thai:น่าหวาดหวั่น, ด้านซ้าย, ...
Turkish:uğursuz, sol, ...
Vietnamese:đáng ngại, trái, ...

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Definition of sinister - Reverso English Dictionary

Adjective

Expressions with sinister

Origin of sinister

Terms related to sinister

Terms with sinister included in their meaning

Examples of sinister in a sentence

View all translations of sinister

Discover how Reverso redefines the dictionary

Go beyond “simple words”

Get more than a simple definition

Go from understanding to mastery