Synonyms of sinister

sinister

adjective

ˈsi-nə-stər 

as in ominous

being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come

the movie relies too much on sinister background music to create the suspense that the plot sorely lacks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ominous
• menacing
• threatening
• bleak
• dark
• darkening
• foreboding
• somber
• murky
• portentous
• lonely
• baleful
• minatory
• dire
• black
• unfortunate
• inauspicious
• direful
• desolate
• depressing
• depressive
• ill
• gray
• doomy
• ill-boding
• morbid
• cold
• unfavorable
• dim
• morose
• lugubrious
• gloomy
• saturnine
• sullen
• sepulchral
• lonesome
• cheerless
• elegiac
• funereal
• discouraging
• troubled
• dismal
• evil
• dreary
• disconsolate
• glum
• forlorn
• malignant
• unpropitious
• hopeless
• chill
• cloudy
• drear
• disheartening
• unpromising
• miserable
• malign
• comfortless
• plutonian
• tenebrous
• godforsaken
• wretched
• unlucky
• dreich
• Cimmerian
• sunless
• tenebrific
• ill-fated
• ill-starred
• star-crossed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• favorable
• benign
• bright
• promising
• golden
• hopeful
• encouraging
• unthreatening
• prosperous
• auspicious
• propitious
• heartening

Synonym Chooser

How is the word sinister different from other adjectives like it?

The words baleful and malign are common synonyms of sinister. While all three words mean "seriously threatening evil or disaster," sinister suggests a general or vague feeling of fear or apprehension on the part of the observer.

a sinister aura haunts the place

When is it sensible to use baleful instead of sinister?

The synonyms baleful and sinister are sometimes interchangeable, but baleful imputes perniciousness or destructiveness to something whether working openly or covertly.

exerting a corrupt and baleful influence

When would malign be a good substitute for sinister?

The words malign and sinister are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, malign applies to what is inherently evil or harmful.

the malign effects of racism

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sinister

There can be legitimate debate on immigration, but Trump veers into sinister areas of xenophobia of invading rapists and murderers. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 25 June 2026

Disclosure Day sees Daniel (O'Connor) and Margaret (Blunt) racing to evade the sinister Wardex corporation with the ultimate goal of disclosure. — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 20 June 2026

Over the past decade, Pride Nights have morphed into something much larger, radical and sinister, in my opinion. — Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026

This familiar geographical framework contains another, more sinister, world, where every horizon holds the promise of both discovery and danger. — Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 June 2026

Phrases Containing sinister

• bar sinister