omen

[oh-muhn]

See more synonyms for omen on Thesaurus.com

noun

anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; portent.
a prognostic.
prophetic significance; presage: a bird of ill omen.

verb (used with object)

to be an omen of; portend.
to divine, as if from omens.

Origin of omen

First recorded in 1575–85, omen is from the Latin word ōmen

Related formsun·o·mened, adjective

Synonyms for omen

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1. augury, foreboding. See sign.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for omen

premonition, harbinger, indication, portent, auspice, prognostic, straw, foreboding, augury, warning, prognostication, prophecy, presage, foretoken, bodement

Examples from the Web for omen

Contemporary Examples of omen

At times, it seemed Leonard was awaiting a portent or an omen.
The Stacks: How Leonard Chess Helped Make Muddy Waters
Alex Belth
August 2, 2014
The Japan Times on March 6, 2010, reported that in folklore the fish comes to the beach as an omen of an earthquake.
Fishy Mystery: Are Beached Oarfish Trying to Tell Us Something?
Kevin Bailey
October 23, 2013
The color has also been used to forebode an omen or a threat.
On St. Patrick’s Day, Beware Those Sly Green Eyes
Laura Dimon
March 17, 2013
Some view is as an omen of dread, of blood, of war, or of victory.
‘Game of Thrones’ Season 2 for Dummies
Jace Lacob
March 28, 2012
They may even have a good argument, but their very existence is about as ill an omen as it gets.
Five Signs the Dems are Doomed
Benjamin Sarlin
October 24, 2010

Historical Examples of omen

He took it as an omen that the wilderness was deserted, and his confidence was strong.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
The dead quiet of the house also oppressed him—like a voice—an omen.
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward
For I will tell you what has happened to me; and I regard the coincidence as a sort of omen.
Laws
Plato
If they come up odd the omen is favourable, and if even it is bad.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India
R. V. Russell
It may serve as an example of the branch of the omen literature to which it belongs.
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria
Morris Jastrow

British Dictionary definitions for omen

omen

noun

a phenomenon or occurrence regarded as a sign of future happiness or disaster
prophetic significance

verb

(tr) to portend

Word Origin for omen

C16: from Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for omen

1580s, from Latin omen "foreboding," from Old Latin osmen, of unknown origin; perhaps connected with the root of audire "to hear" [OED] or from PIE *o- "to believe, hold as true" (cf. Greek oiomai "I suppose, think, believe").