# sinister vs spinster

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sinister
*adjective · IPA /ˈsɪnɪstə/ · frequency rank #13,064*
Inauspicious, ominous, unlucky, illegitimate (as in bar sinister).

### spinster
*noun · IPA /ˈspɪnstə/ · frequency rank #42,416*
A woman who has never been married, especially one past the typical marrying age according to social traditions.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sinister-vs-spinster