adjective
sinister
Threatening or suggesting evil or tragic events to come
Where it comes from
Sinister comes through Middle English and Anglo-French from Latin sinister, which meant left or on the left side and could also mean unlucky or inauspicious.
How the meaning developed
English inherited the unfavorable associations as well as the directional sense. The heraldic use still literally names the bearer's left side of a shield, while ordinary sinister now suggests menace or evil.
Sources
Definitions adapted from Open English WordNet where applicable. License and attribution. Word-history text comes from Lexifour’s sourced social research; pages are assembled automatically, not individually fact-checked on every update.
Updated 2026-09-25. Report a correction.