Crossword Genius

I believe texting about intelligence is sinister (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ominous

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sinister' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'i believe texting about intelligence' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'i' is present in the answer.
'intelligence' could be 'nous' (I've seen this before) and 'nous' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'om' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'is' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ominous that I've seen before include "Boding ill" , "Foreboding, menacing" , "Looking like trouble ahead" , "Threatening, doesn't look good" , "Portending evil" .)

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