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sinister

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The definition of sinister is a person or thing that threatens harm or misfortune.

(adjective)

An example of sinister is behavior like that of Hitler.
An example of sinister is weather such as a tornado.

See sinister in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

1. Archaic on, to, or toward the left-hand side; left
2. Heraldry on the left side of a shield (the right as seen by the viewer)
threatening harm, evil, or misfortune; ominous; portentous: sinister storm clouds
wicked, evil, or dishonest, esp. in some dark, mysterious way: a sinister plot
most unfavorable or unfortunate; disastrous: met a sinister fate

Origin: ME sinistre < L sinister, left-hand, or unlucky (side), orig. lucky (side) < IE base *sene-, to prepare, achieve > Sans sánīyān, more favorable: early Roman augurs faced south, with the east (lucky side) to the left, but the Greeks (followed by later Romans) faced north

Related Forms:

sinisterly adverb
sinisterness noun

See sinister in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

Suggesting or threatening evil: a sinister smile.
Presaging trouble; ominous: sinister storm clouds.
Attended by or causing disaster or inauspicious circumstances.
On the left side; left.
Heraldry Situated on or being the side of a shield on the wearer's left and the observer's right.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English sinistre, unfavorable

Origin: , from Old French

Origin: , from Latin sinister, on the left, unlucky

Related Forms: