Sinister Meaning
/ˈsɪ.nɪ.stə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjInauspicious, ominous, unlucky, illegitimate (as in bar sinister).
adjInauspicious, ominous, unlucky, illegitimate.
Sentence Examples
He gave me a sinister look.
Tom gave Mary a sinister look.
Dan had that sinister feeling that something was wrong.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The detective noticed a ____ shadow following the victim on the dark street.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old mansion had a ____ atmosphere that made the visitors feel very uneasy.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *senh₂- Proto-Indo-European *senh₂-is-? Proto-Italic *senisteros Latin sinister Late Latin sinextrum Old French senestrebor. Middle English sinistre English sinister From Middle English sinistre (“unlucky”), from Old French senestre, sinistre (“left”), from Latin sinister (“left hand”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"All the several ills that visit earth / Brought forth by night, with a sinister birth."
— 1611, Ben[jamin] Jonson, Catiline His Conspiracy, London: […] [William Stansby?] for Walter Burre, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
"And in the meanwhile, Society shivered a little feverishly, filled now with the scions of those who had come over with the Jewish and American Conquests. Escutcheons were becoming valueless, how sinister soever the blots and clots upon them."
— 1922, Michael Arlen, “1/5/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
"my Mothers bloud / Runs on the dexter checke, and this ſiniſter / Bounds in my fathers:"
— c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v], column 2:
"His ſicatrice, with an Embleme of warre, heere on his ſiniſter cheeke;"
— c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 235:
"Before the train had stopped he had decorated his sinister shirt-cuff with the inscription, ‘J. P. Huddle, The Warren, Tilfield, near Slowborough.’"
— 1911, Saki, ‘The Unrest-Cure’, The Chronicles of Clovis:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The detective noticed a ____ shadow following the victim on the dark street.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old mansion had a ____ atmosphere that made the visitors feel very uneasy.