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

Etymology

Origin of omen

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

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

She’s just frustrated that the weather isn’t cooperating with her upcoming outdoor performance and agitated that this might be a bad omen for her big American comeback.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

The offering is a good omen for SpaceX’s AI-focused rivals Anthropic and OpenAI, both of which recently filed paperwork that sets them up to stage similarly megasize offerings later this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Against the bullish backdrop, the IPO could turn out to be fortuitous, or an omen.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

That is a bad omen, though it’s encouraging that Kavanaugh and Barrett didn’t sign onto it.

From Slate ● May 23, 2026

By coincidence—or maybe it was an omen, the boy thought—he came to the bar he had entered on his first day there.

From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

There are bad omens for future tax policy, too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

An omen among omens: Mid-dog-walk that day, I spot a onesie that reads “Milk Drunk” and shudder at the impulse to recruit our newborns into low-key bacchanalia.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

The people of r/Superstonk are dogmatic, unforgiving of alternative views, indulgent of auguries and omens, simultaneously convinced of their righteousness yet constantly fretting about their opponents’ vast and mysterious powers to undermine them.

From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2024

Does Bob, as he's more affectionately known, believe in omens?

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2024

In the fury of his torment he tried futilely to rouse the omens that had guided his youth along dangerous paths into the desolate wasteland of glory.

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

Related Words

• harbinger
• indication
• portent
• premonition