sinister C2+ Topic:People & Society US /ˈsɪnɪstər/ UK /ˈsɪnɪstə/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj giving an impression of evil or threatening harm A sinister shadow moved across the curtained window. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · giving an impression of... menacingominousthreateningmalevolentforbiddingbaleful ↔ Opposites benignauspiciousbenevolentwholesome Word family Derived forms sinisterlysinisterness Related forms sinistraldexter Etymology AI details From Latin sinister ('left, on the left side'), which acquired connotations of unluckiness and evil in augury, via Old French sinistre. sinister Latin View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # sinister **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈsɪnɪstər/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈsɪnɪstə/ ## Meanings 1. giving an impression of evil or threatening harm ## Examples - A sinister shadow moved across the curtained window. ## Synonyms - menacing - ominous - threatening - malevolent - forbidding - baleful ## Antonyms - benign - auspicious - benevolent - wholesome ## Derived Forms - sinisterly - sinisterness ## Related Forms - sinistral - dexter ## Roots and Affixes - Root: sinister ## Etymology From Latin sinister ('left, on the left side'), which acquired connotations of unluckiness and evil in augury, via Old French sinistre. ## AI Etymology Sinister comes from Latin sinister ('left, on the left side'), which acquired connotations of unluckiness and evil in augury, via Old French sinistre. The historical chain includes Latin sinister. Older glosses in the chain include "left, on the left side", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, sinister is best read as borrowing, yielding an English adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adjective, with the sense "giving an impression of evil or threatening harm". English derivatives include sinisterly and sinisterness; related forms include sinistral and dexter. The result is an English adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning. ## Topics - People & Society - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown