# sinister

Pronunciation: US say "SIN-i-ster" /ˈsɪnɪstɚ/; UK/AUS say "SIN-i-stuh" /ˈsɪnɪstə/

## Adjective

1. Evil or harmful in intent, or seeming so; suggesting that something bad or dangerous is happening or about to happen.
   - Simple: Evil or meant to harm, or making you feel that something bad or dangerous is happening or will 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._
3. In 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.
   - Simple: On the left of a shield as seen by the person holding it. In old use, simply on the left.
   - _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._

## Adjective

2. Wrong because underhanded or indirect; perverse or dishonest. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Dishonest or wrong, because done in a sneaky, indirect way.

## 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”.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sinister (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).