ominously
Americanadverb
Explanation
Ominously is a word to describe how something threatening appears. If you're golfing and dark gray clouds ominously appear, you'd better call it a day. Originating from the Latin word ominosus, meaning "full of foreboding," the adverb ominously indicates when an action is done in an ominous manner, possibly indicating danger or evil is in the future. You might want to reconsider that moonlit hike if a wolf ominously howls just as you are about to begin. If gigantic waves are ominously crashing into the shore, it would be wise to devote the day to building a sand castle rather than snorkeling.
Vocabulary lists containing ominously
Of Mice and Men
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Tangerine
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The traffic going in the opposite direction was ominously heavy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Even more ominously, the low in implied correlation in 2024 occurred on July 3, the same day USD/JPY peaked.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
A world-cleansing storm has thundered ominously on the horizon ever since “The Bear” began.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Kane is England's 'Mr Irreplaceable' - as proved when Thomas Tuchel's side were ominously toothless when drawing with Uruguay then losing to Japan in March friendlies at Wembley.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Gulls wheeled overhead like vultures or perched ominously on barnacle-encrusted stumps peeking out of the green water.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
