sinister

/ˈsi-nə-stər/

Middle English sinistre, from Anglo-French senestre on the left, from Latin sinistr-, sinister on the left side, unlucky, inauspicious

adjective

  1. singularly evil or productive of evil

  2. accompanied by or leading to disaster

  3. presaging ill fortune or trouble

sinister baleful malign mean seriously threatening evil or disaster. sinister suggests a general or vague feeling of fear or apprehension on the part of the observer. baleful imputes perniciousness or destructiveness to something whether working openly or covertly.

noun

  1. a supposed heraldic charge widely believed to be a mark of bastardy

  2. the fact or condition of being born to parents who are not married to each other

noun

  1. a diagonal band that runs from the sinister chief to the dexter base on a heraldic shield