Dictionary.com

ominous

[ om-uh-nuhs ]
/ ˈɒm ə nəs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR ominous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

portending evil or harm; foreboding; threatening; inauspicious: an ominous bank of dark clouds.
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.

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Origin of ominous

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin ōminōsus “portentous,” equivalent to ōmin- (stem of ōmen ) + -ōsus; see origin at omen, -ous

synonym study for ominous

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM ominous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to ominous

apocalyptic, prophetic, dangerous, sinister, threatening, perilous, dark, gloomy, dismal, dire, haunting, portentous, grim, baleful, baneful, direful, doomed, fateful, fearful, forbidding

Example sentences from the Web for ominous

  • Despite the ominousness of the times, Mercer continued with the daily routine, the minutiae of which filled his journal.

    The Cultural History of Marlborough, Virginia|C. Malcolm Watkins

  • That face once seen could never be forgotten, and he was overcome by the ominousness of the meeting.

    The False Chevalier|William Douw Lighthall

  • Too ominous, Mr. Moore thought: let ominousness be kept for one's attitude towards crime.

    East Angels|Constance Fenimore Woolson

  • To him, as to his mother, the circumstance had at once conveyed a suggestion of ominousness, a hint of possible evil tidings.

    The Cruise of the Nonsuch Buccaneer|Harry Collingwood

British Dictionary definitions for ominous

ominous
/ (ˈɒmɪnəs) /

adjective

foreboding evil
serving as or having significance as an omen

Derived forms of ominous

ominously, adverbominousness, noun

Word Origin for ominous

C16: from Latin ōminōsus, from omen
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