How to Use sinister in a Sentence

sinister

adjective
  • There was something sinister about him.
  • The sound effects make birdsong and wind in the trees seem sinister.
    oregonlive, 10 Oct. 2022
  • The group promised Dre a pass for the festival, but there were more sinister plans involved.
    Jasmine Washington, Seventeen, 21 Mar. 2023
  • But the toy turns out to be quite sinister — and has ties to Jessica herself.
    Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2024
  • But Cat Person, the movie, appears ready to up the stakes with a much more sinister stalking plot and some over-the-top thriller touches.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Seeps of water spilled out of the escarpments here and there, creating sinister black stripes against the smoky gray of the cliffs.
    Emily Pennington, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Jan. 2023
  • Why did the oil refineries around Carquinez Straits seem sinister to me in the summer of 1956?
    New York Times, 23 Dec. 2021
  • Suffice to say, a sinister presence with a nice set of chompers is lurking in the cargo hold, and is able to make short work of the doomed crew.
    Brent Lang, Variety, 11 Aug. 2023
  • For some of the local children, the temple had a more sinister aspect.
    Gary Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Aug. 2021
  • Amid a sinister sonic backdrop, the song sets out a tale of women targeted in the night.
    Andrew Casillas, Rolling Stone, 10 Nov. 2022
  • To engage with them was to look in a mirror and find a sinister creature staring back.
    Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024
  • There is some thought that this was a sinister right-wing attempt to test and demonstrate what dark money can do.
    John Brummett, Arkansas Online, 1 June 2021
  • So to make a movie where the biggest fan is this sinister force, the literal devil, just felt timely to me.
    Jessica Wang, EW.com, 26 July 2024
  • The cocoa butter that first drew Nella to Hazel turns out to have a sinister meaning.
    Lovia Gyarkye, The New Republic, 20 May 2021
  • When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.
    Lauren Huff, EW.com, 10 Oct. 2022
  • Machine Gun Kelly star in this thriller about an online truth or dare game that takes a sinister turn.
    Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 29 Aug. 2022
  • From sinister secret rooms to mysterious razor blades, read on for the most bizarre finds of the bunch.
    Jada Jackson, House Beautiful, 7 Sep. 2021
  • Some, even people close to her, have more sinister designs.
    John Hopewell, Variety, 10 Nov. 2023
  • When a doctor with a rare blood disease attempts to cure himself, the result is a bit more sinister.
    Cameron Jenkins, Good Housekeeping, 10 Aug. 2022
  • Fearing for his son’s safety as the sinister beach boys surround them, Cage relents and walks back up to the parking lot.
    Rachel Handler, Vulture, 18 May 2024
  • But her instinct told her there was something sinister about this plume.
    Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2022
  • Delays in the qui tam process are costing us billions and the motives behind the delays may be more sinister.
    Walter Pavlo, Forbes, 30 May 2021
  • Their sinister goal is to take a kind-hearted person down the path of deception with their clever misdeeds.
    Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 23 Apr. 2023
  • Obviously, what the father does in that film is more sinister than what John does.
    Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2022
  • The ghosts who visit her there have something sinister to communicate to the new bride.
    Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, 31 July 2023
  • Enter the antagonists, Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear, with sinister plans of their own.
    Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Jan. 2023
  • Is there something more sinister about Keith that Tess can’t see?
    Jen Yamato, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2022
  • Or Gambon, with his more sinister twist on the character?
    Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023
  • But come nightfall, this Erie property begins to take on a more sinister vibe.
    Sarah Kuta, The Denver Post, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Black-and-white videos of the crowd flickered on large screens behind and around him – only rarely was color used, which gave off a sinister vibe, almost daring guests to dance.
    Mark Gray, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sinister.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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