adjective
- Threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments.
- usage: "a baleful look"; "forbidding thunderclouds"; "his tone became menacing"; "ominous rumblings of discontent"; "sinister storm clouds"; "a sinister smile"; "his threatening behavior"; "ugly black clouds"; "the situation became ugly"
- synonyms: baleful, forbidding, menacing, minacious, minatory, ominous, threatening
- Stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable."black deeds"; "a black lie"; "his black heart has concocted yet another black deed"; "Darth Vader of the dark side"; "a dark purpose"; "dark undercurrents of ethnic hostility"; "the scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on punishing him-Thomas Hardy
- On or starting from the wearer's left.
- usage: "bar sinister"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). sinister. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/sinister/definitions/1183604 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "sinister" http://smartdefine.org/sinister/definitions/1183604 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, sinister, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/sinister/definitions/1183604>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "sinister" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/sinister/definitions/1183604> |