sinister
/ˈsɪ.nɪ.stə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.60 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Example Sentences
- "bar sinister"
- "All the several ills that visit earth / Brought forth by night, with a sinister birth."
- "And in the meanwhile, Society shivered a little feverishly, filled now with the scions of those who had come over with the Jewish and American Conquests. Escutcheons were becoming valueless, how sinister soever the blots and clots upon them."
- "sinister influences"
- "the sinister atmosphere of the crypt"
- "my Mothers bloud / Runs on the dexter checke, and this ſiniſter / Bounds in my fathers:"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *senh₂- Proto-Indo-European *senh₂-is-? Proto-Italic *senisteros Latin sinister Late Latin sinextrum Old French senestrebor. Middle English sinistre English sinister From Middle English sinistre (“unlucky”), from Old French senestre, sinistre (“left”), from Latin sinister (“left hand”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɪ.nɪ.stə/
- British English: /ˈsɪ.nɪ.stə/