ominous

[om-uh-nuhs]

adjective

1. portending evil or harm; foreboding; threatening; inauspicious.

   an ominous bank of dark clouds.

2. indicating the nature of a future event, for good or evil; having the significance of an omen; being a portent.

   Some of these events were immediately ominous, while others only later revealed themselves as such.

ominous

/ ˈɒmɪnəs /

adjective

1. foreboding evil

2. serving as or having significance as an omen

Other Word Forms

• ominously adverb
• ominousness noun
• unominous adjective
• unominously adverb
• unominousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ominous¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin ōminōsus “portentous,” equivalent to ōmin- (stem of ōmen ) + -ōsus; omen, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of ominous¹

C16: from Latin ōminōsus, from _omen

Synonym Study

Ominous, portentous, threatening, menacing, fateful are adjectives describing that which forebodes a serious, significant, and often harmful outcome. Ominous, derived from omen “a predictor of outcomes,” usually suggests evil or damaging eventualities: ominous storm clouds; an ominous silence. Portentous, although it may suggest evil results, often stresses a momentous or very important outcome: a portentous moment in history; a portentous escalation of hostilities. Threatening may suggest calamity or great harm but sometimes mere unpleasantness: a threatening rumble from the volcano; A threatening look from his brother caused him to quickly change the subject. Menacing always suggests serious damage as an outcome: He advanced with a menacing swagger. Fateful most often stresses the great or decisive importance of what it describes: a fateful encounter between two future leaders; a fateful day that changed our world.

Example Sentences

At another event, pollster Jonathan Jones of JL Partners began his presentation on the attitudes of voters under 40 with the ominous words: "Conservative Party members turn away now."

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“We pay far too little attention to that ominous period of American life,” he said, “always preferring to look on the bright side rather than the dark side.”

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This battered two-story home with ominous scratches on the basement door has been in Todd’s family for six generations, as the cemetery out back proves.

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In the meantime, it's down to organizations and workers to watch out for the signs of stress before they turn into something more ominous.

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And, sounding a note that is ominous for those hoping to challenge Liverpool for the title, once again this was not a performance sprinkled with the sparkle of champions.

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Related Words

• apocalyptic 
• dangerous 
• dark 
• dire 
• dismal 
• gloomy 
• grim 
• haunting 
• perilous 
• portentous 
• prophetic 
• sinister 
• threatening