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
• foreboding
• somber
• murky
• portentous
• lonely
• darkening
• baleful
• minatory
• dire
• black
• unfortunate
• inauspicious
• direful
• grey
• desolate
• depressing
• depressive
• ill
• gray
• doomy
• ill-boding
• morbid
• sombre
• cold
• unfavorable
• dim
• morose
• lugubrious
• gloomy
• saturnine
• sullen
• sepulchral
• lonesome
• cheerless
• elegiac
• funereal
• discouraging
• troubled
• dismal
• evil
• dreary
• disconsolate
• glum
• forlorn
• malignant
• unpropitious
• chill
• hopeless
• cloudy
• drear
• disheartening
• unpromising
• miserable
• malign
• comfortless
• elegiacal
• 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

But to ignore the horrors and live with their existence and isolate them mentally begins the kind of sinister psychological transformation, the confusion and apathy, that Putin’s machine induces in large populations. —Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025

Or, more likely, The Sentry is simply the benevolent mirror image of that shadowy, sinister entity that emerges after Bob Reynolds ingests a super serum. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2025

However, what was happening behind the scenes was more sinister than what the public thought. —Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 14 Apr. 2025

This unstable dwelling, with its crumbling walls and lack of proper bedrooms for the children, comes to stand for a far more sinister lack of boundaries. —Leslie Camhi, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025

Phrases Containing sinister

• bar sinister