sinister
- 1Evil or harmful in intent, or seeming so; suggesting that something bad or dangerous is happening or about to happen.
There was something sinister about the way he smiled when he heard the news.
Investigators suspected that sinister forces were behind the sudden collapse of the company.
UsageOften in the pattern something sinister about someone or something, and in sinister forces behind events.
Similarominous, menacing, threatening, malevolent, evil
Oppositebenign, harmless, innocent, benevolent
- 2Wrong because underhanded or indirect; perverse or dishonest.
Nimble and sinister tricks and shifts.
1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Judicature”He scorns to undermine another's interest by any sinister or inferior arts.
1667, Robert South, The Practice of Religion Enforced by ReasonNote
In this older sense the word meant crookedness rather than menace: conduct that reaches its goal sideways instead of straight. Francis Bacon's sinister tricks and shifts are dodges, not threats, and sinister arts were dishonest methods. Walter Scott's sinister intentions differ: a man in strangers' hands fears they mean him harm, which is the threatening meaning.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- An older sense of sinister meant indirect, perverse or dishonest conduct rather than menace. en.wiktionary.org
- Francis Bacon used sinister tricks and shifts for devious methods that pervert judicial proceedings. gutenberg.org
- Sinister arts referred to dishonest methods. en.wiktionary.org
- Walter Scott used the phrase sinister intentions in his narration. gutenberg.org
- Scott's passage concerns a man fearing harm from those holding him, supporting the threatening interpretation. gutenberg.org
- 3In heraldry, on the left side of a shield as its bearer holds it, the viewer's right; in older use, on the left side generally.
The lion stands on the sinister side of the shield, facing the eagle on the dexter.
A bend sinister runs from the upper right corner to the lower left as you look at the shield.
UsageIn heraldic terms it often follows the noun: a bend sinister, a baton sinister.
Oppositedexter
Note
Heraldry reads a shield from behind, as its bearer holds it, so sinister is the side a viewer sees on the right. The term is purely positional: a railway coat of arms described in 1956 put London and Southampton on the dexter side and Salisbury, Winchester and Portsmouth on the sinister, with no slight to those three places.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Heraldic sinister denotes the bearer's left, which appears on the viewer's right. en.wikipedia.org
- In this heraldic usage, sinister identifies a position rather than dishonesty or menace; the railway example therefore implies no such slight. en.wiktionary.org
- A description published in July 1956 placed London and Southampton on the dexter side and Salisbury, Winchester and Portsmouth on the sinister side. en.wiktionary.org
Practice
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Origin
From Latin sinister (“left”), via Old French and Middle English sinistre. The left side was long linked with bad luck, so the word came to mean “unlucky” and also “threatening” or “evil”.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The word derives from Latin sinister, meaning left, through Old French and Middle English sinistre. en.wiktionary.org
- Historical beliefs associated the left side with misfortune. fr.wiktionary.org