A.Word.A.Day --sinister

A.Word.A.Day

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Dec 29, 2010

This week's theme
Words derived from the names of body parts

This week's words
supercilious
impugn
sinister
orchidaceous
charivari

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

sinister

PRONUNCIATION:

(SIN-uh-stuhr)

MEANING:

adjective:
1. Threatening or foreshadowing evil or harm.
2. On the left side.

ETYMOLOGY:

Via French from Latin sinister (left, left hand, unlucky). Earliest documented use: 1411.

USAGE:

"We are concerned as there are reports that sinister moves are under way to create clashes among the Security Forces."
Mahinda Rajapaksa; Lanka on Verge of Prosperous Era; Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka); Dec 12, 2010.

See more usage examples of sinister in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Inquiry is fatal to certainty. -Will Durant, historian (1885-1981)

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