sinistersin‧is‧ter /ˈsɪnɪstə $ -ər/ ●○○ adjective 
There was something sinister about Mr Scott’s death. There is a sinister side to these events. He was a handsome man, in a sinister sort of way. a sinister atmosphere
WORD ORIGINsinister
Origin:
1400-1500 Old French sinistre, from Latin sinister ‘left-handed, unlucky’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A sinister figure lurked in the shadows.
- a sinister laugh
- Her dark eyes and evil laugh made her seem sinister.
- The man was dressed in a black suit and wore dark glasses. There was something sinister about him.
- There may be more sinister forces at work behind the scenes.
- As I gazed on this incongruous tableau, however, the scene gradually took on a more sinister aspect.
- Daffy keeps reappearing to Richard as a ghost, unstoppably loquacious and with a joviality that turns increasingly sinister.
- Not even a sinister black cat, but a large and lazy-looking tabby.
- Some might say it's a sinister way to spend your time.
- The drawing style is rough and abrasive, the heavy blacks underlining the sinister plotting of Silver and his renegades.
- The First Couple looks sleazy and careless but not necessarily sinister.
- Their presence was all the more sinister amidst the approaching thunder of anticlericalism.
Longman Language Activatorwords for describing bad people or behaviour
use this about behaviour that is morally wrong, or about people who do things that are morally wrong: · In most movies, the bad guy gets caught in the end.· He had a bad influence on his younger brother.· Is there any crime worse than murdering a child?· It never occurred to Sally that the man had any bad intentions.
use this about actions that you believe are morally wrong and unacceptable, even if they are not illegal: · Many people think that testing cosmetics on animals is immoral.· To spend £23 billion on nuclear weapons is immoral, and a terrible waste of money.· Critics complain that the lyrics of the song encourage anti-social and immoral behavior.
deliberately very bad and very cruel to other people: · Police described the crime as wicked and inhuman.· He was an evil man who felt no sympathy for his victims.
informal use this about someone who is not at all honest, helpful, or kind: · That friend of yours is no good. I want you to stay away from her.· My first husband was a no-good, low-down son-of-a-bitch.
someone who is sinister looks bad or evil, so that other people are frightened of them: · Her dark eyes and evil laugh made her seem sinister.something sinister about somebody: · The man was dressed in a black suit and wore dark glasses. There was something sinister about him.
behaving in an unusually cruel and shocking way, that is not at all normal: · What kind of sick and twisted person would do such a thing?· Whoever sent you these disgusting letters must be twisted.
completely evil and morally unacceptable: · He was described as dangerous and depraved and a menace to society.· The film is about a psychiatrist who helps the police capture a depraved serial killer.
involving sexual behaviour or intentions that are considered immoral, unnatural, and harmful: · The newspaper has described the killer as perverted and sexually deviant.· They saw the affection she had for such an old man as unnatural and possibly perverted.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY There was something sinister about Mr Scott’s death.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
making you feel that something evil, dangerous, or illegal is happening or will happenthere is something/nothing sinister about somebody/something There was something sinister about Mr Scott’s death.· But things have taken on more sinister overtones since then.· Slummers, or something more sinister.· As I gazed on this incongruous tableau, however, the scene gradually took on a more sinister aspect.· Fujisaki will probably rule next week on whether defense lawyers can draw a more sinister inference from the delay during closing arguments.· Knedliky, when it arrived, was nothing more sinister than dumplings cut into half-inch-thick slices.· But within the context of a self-defeating organizational behavior system, minimizing serves a larger and more sinister purpose.
· They are visited by spectres of childhood terror, the debonair Cosmo Disney and most sinister, the masked Pitchfork Cavalier.· The most sinister event has just occurred.· Growing in the most sinister manner, it is embedded in a battle scene taking place across the River Nile.· Some ten meters from the center of the dome was a most sinister sight.· Trust acquires its most sinister building David Green Only the crumbling shells of the buildings can now be seen.· The overall effect was most sinister: I was not surprised that superstitious servants should be fearful of the thing.· Nor have official bodies been able to ward off the most sinister threat.· But superimposed across the scene were a set of shadows of most sinister appearance.
There was something sinister about Mr Scott’s death. There is a sinister side to these events. He was a handsome man, in a sinister sort of way. a sinister atmosphere