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

The way they are playing at the moment is ominous for everyone else, because it is hard to see how anyone is going to challenge them.

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They are facing an ominous task in Brisbane where England have won just twice since World War II, but another former England captain is not yet ready to throw in the towel.

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It was an ominous start from the world's second ranked country against the hosts, 12th in the World Rugby standings and with just two wins in 21 Tests coming into the match.

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Far more often they have been ominous signs of the Australian dominance that was to come.

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The name might sound ominous, but data show that a death cross is often an indication that a given asset or index has fallen too far and is overdue for a bounce.

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Related Words

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