Sinister — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments

stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable; ; ; ; ; ; ; -Thomas Hardy

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/sˈɪnɪstɚ/

🇬🇧British English

/sˈɪnɪstə/

🇮🇳Indian English

/sˈɪnɪstə/

3 syllables Say it as /sˈɪnɪstɚ/.

Examples

a baleful look
forbidding thunderclouds
his tone became menacing

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

black minatory dark baleful minacious menacing ominous threatening forbidding

Parts of Speech

adjective	threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments “a baleful look”
adjective	stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable; ; ; ; ; ; ; -Thomas Hardy “black deeds”
adjective	on or starting from the wearer's left “bar sinister”

Word Forms

balefulness	noun	the quality or nature of being harmful or evil
omen	noun	a sign of something about to happen
dark	noun	absence of moral or spiritual values
darkness	noun	absence of moral or spiritual values

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

unheimlich

drohende oder vorhersehbare böse oder tragische Entwicklungen

🇫🇷French

sinistre

menacer ou préfigurer des développements maléfiques ou tragiques

🇪🇸Spanish

siniestro

amenazando o presagiando acontecimientos malvados o trágicos

🇮🇹Italian

sinistro

minacciare o presagire sviluppi malvagi o tragici

🇵🇹Portuguese

sinistro

ameaçando ou prenunciando desenvolvimentos maus ou trágicos

🇷🇺Russian

зловещий

угроза или предзнаменование зла или трагических событий

India

🇮🇳Hindi

भयावह

बुरे या दुखद घटनाक्रम की धमकी देना या उसका पूर्वाभास देना

🇧🇩Bengali

অশুভ

মন্দ বা দুঃখজনক উন্নয়নের হুমকি বা পূর্বাভাস

🇮🇳Tamil

கெட்டது

தீய அல்லது சோகமான வளர்ச்சிகளை அச்சுறுத்துவது அல்லது முன்னறிவிப்பது

🇮🇳Telugu

చెడ్డ

చెడు లేదా విషాదకరమైన పరిణామాలను బెదిరించడం లేదా ముందే సూచించడం

🇮🇳Marathi

भयंकर

वाईट किंवा दुःखद घडामोडींना धमकावणे किंवा पूर्वदर्शन करणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

અશુભ

દુષ્ટ અથવા દુ: ખદ ઘટનાઓને ધમકી આપવી અથવા પૂર્વદર્શન આપવી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅಶುಭ

ದುಷ್ಟ ಅಥವಾ ದುರಂತ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗಳನ್ನು ಬೆದರಿಸುವುದು ಅಥವಾ ಮುನ್ಸೂಚಿಸುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

ദുഷ്ടൻ

തിന്മയോ ദാരുണമോ ആയ സംഭവവികാസങ്ങളെ ഭീഷണിപ്പെടുത്തുകയോ മുൻകൂട്ടി കാണിക്കുകയോ ചെയ്യുന്നു

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਭਿਆਨਕ

ਧਮਕੀ ਦੇਣਾ ਜਾਂ ਬੁਰਾਈ ਜਾਂ ਦੁਖਦਾਈ ਘਟਨਾਕ੍ਰਮ ਨੂੰ ਦਰਸਾਉਣਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

ناگوار

دھمکی دینا یا برائی یا المناک پیشرفت کی پیش گوئی کرنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

险恶

威胁或预示邪恶或悲剧的发展

🇯🇵Japanese

邪悪な

悪または悲劇的な展開を脅迫したり、予見したりする

🇰🇷Korean

불길한

사악하거나 비극적인 전개를 위협하거나 예고하는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

nham hiểm

đe dọa hoặc báo trước những diễn biến xấu xa hoặc bi thảm

🇹🇭Thai

น่ากลัว

ข่มขู่หรือบอกล่วงหน้าถึงความชั่วร้ายหรือเหตุการณ์ที่น่าสลดใจ

🇮🇩Indonesian

jahat

mengancam atau menandakan perkembangan jahat atau tragis

🇵🇭Filipino

masama

nagbabanta o nagbabadya ng kasamaan o kalunus-lunos na mga pangyayari

🇲🇾Malay

jahat

mengancam atau membayangkan perkembangan jahat atau tragis

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

شرير

تهديد أو تنذر بتطورات شريرة أو مأساوية

🇮🇷Persian

شوم

تهدید یا پیش بینی تحولات بد یا غم انگیز

🇹🇷Turkish

uğursuz

kötü ya da trajik gelişmeleri tehdit etmek ya da bunların habercisi olmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

מְרוּשָׁע

מאיימת או מבשרת התפתחויות רעות או טרגיות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'sinister'?

The primary meaning of 'sinister' is 'threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'sinister' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'sinister' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'sinister' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'sinister' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'sinister' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'sinister' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'sinister' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'sinister' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'sinister' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'sinister' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted