ominous
[ om-uh-nuh s ]
/ ˈɒm ə nəs /
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.
Origin of ominous
SYNONYMS 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:
a disease menacing the entire population; 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
Words nearby ominous
Example sentences from the Web for ominous
British Dictionary definitions for ominous
ominous
/ (ˈɒmɪnəs) /
adjective
foreboding evil
serving as or having significance as an omen
Derived forms of ominous
ominously, adverb ominousness, nounWord Origin for ominous
C16: from Latin
ōminōsus, from
omen