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

As one of music’s biggest stars with an international fanbase, Swift has already contended with more sinister uses of AI. —Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 27 Apr. 2026

Based on the bestseller from author Colleen Hoover, Johnson stars in the film adaptation that teases lingering secrets and a dark sinister mystery awaiting to be solved. —Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2026

The core of the mystery centers on at least 10 individuals allegedly connected to key nuclear and aerospace research who have died or disappeared, igniting widespread online speculation about potential sinister activity. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 25 Apr. 2026

Public reports raise questions about a possible sinister connection between a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances which began in 2023 with the death of Michael David Hicks, who worked as a scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from 1998 to 2022. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026

Phrases Containing sinister

• bar sinister