omen

American  

[oh-muhn] / ˈoʊ mən /

noun

• omens
  plural

1. 

   anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; portent.

   Synonyms:

   foreboding, augury

2. a prognostic.

3. prophetic significance; presage.

   a bird of ill omen.

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verb (used with object)

1. to be an omen of; portend.

2. to divine, as if from omens.

omen British  

/ ˈəʊmən /

noun

1. a phenomenon or occurrence regarded as a sign of future happiness or disaster

2. prophetic significance

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verb

1. (tr) to portend

Synonym Usage

See sign.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unomened
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• omens
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of omen

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

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Explanation

An omen is an event or happening that you take as sign of something to come. It’s believed to be a bad omen if a black cat crosses your path or if it rains on your wedding day. Omens generally get a bad rap — that's probably because a lot of them predict bad stuff, at least according to superstition. But the interpretation of omens really depends on the country and culture. What's considered an ominous sign in one place might mean a lifetime of good luck somewhere else. Oscar Wilde once wrote that, “There is no such thing as an omen. Destiny does not send us heralds. She is too wise or too cruel for that.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

omen omens

This recent divergence certainly appears to be a very positive omen, as you can see from the accompanying chart.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

It was a good omen, too, since the Galaxy haven’t lost when they’ve scored first or when they’ve led at halftime.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Through years of extraordinary political upheaval, the sound engineer at No. 10 Downing Street has served as a chiseled omen of great change.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

For Nikki Smith from Keith, a lost suitcase has been an unlucky start to the trip, but is not a bad omen for Saturday.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

Although he had never thought of it as an omen, Colonel Aureliano Buendía had foreseen the tragic end of his sons in a certain way.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Successive dynasties employed specialists to monitor celestial events because unusual phenomena in the sky were often interpreted as omens.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

There are bad omens for future tax policy, too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

If you were a supporter who believed in omens and superstitions then the sight of the unbreakable centre-back getting broken was not good for your karma.

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

But this was a random thing, right, not, like, the latest in a concentrated sequence of omens that are becoming impossible to ignore?

From Slate ● Nov. 22, 2024

Several times they started to build a city, but they were always driven away by misfortunes or bad omens.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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Related Words

• harbinger
• indication
• portent
• premonition

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