ominous

adjective

om·​i·​nous ˈä-mə-nəs How to pronounce ominous (audio)
: being or exhibiting an omen : portentous
especially : foreboding or foreshadowing evil : inauspicious
ominously adverb
ominousness noun

Did you know?

Ominous didn't always mean that something bad was about to happen. If you look closely, you can see the omen in ominous, which gave it the original meaning of "being a sign of events to come"—whether good or bad. It ultimately comes from the Latin word omen, which is both an ancestor and a synonym of our omen. Today, however, ominous suggests a menacing or threatening aspect. Its synonyms portentous and fateful are used similarly, but ominous is the most menacing of the three. It implies an alarming quality that foreshadows evil or disaster. So when something wicked this way comes, count on ominous to deliver the news aforehand.

Choose the Right Synonym for ominous

ominous, portentous, fateful mean having a menacing or threatening aspect.

ominous implies having a menacing, alarming character foreshadowing evil or disaster.

ominous rumblings from the volcano

portentous suggests being frighteningly big or impressive but now seldom definitely connotes forewarning of calamity.

an eerie and portentous stillness

fateful suggests being of momentous or decisive importance.

the fateful conference that led to war

Examples of ominous in a Sentence

Not many sets of initials became universally recognizable during the twentieth century, and those that did often had ominous overtones, from SS to KGB. Geoffrey Wheatcroft, Atlantic, March 2001
While politicians and multinational corporations extol the virtues of NAFTA … the ominous curtain is already up in a six-mile section at the border crossing at Mexicali … Leslie Marmon Silko, Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit, 1996
Fighting against sensations that sought to claim him, he moved nervously and the note in his hand rattled with a dry and ominous whisper. Richard Wright, Rite of Passage, 1994
Arranged in two long and ominous rows, the branding irons dangled from the ceiling in the center of the room, suggesting some sort of fence or jail … Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, May 1993
an ominous threat of war He spoke in ominous tones.
Recent Examples on the Web More white spruce and other vegetation in the Arctic might sound picturesque, but the greening-in-progress is in fact a much messier, ominous story with global consequences. Matt Simon, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024 But instead of battling land developers, the family at the center of Outer Range is confronting a much more ominous threat: a mysterious black void that appears on their pasture in Wyoming. Emily Blackwood, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024 Well, the photo that the Dunphy-Pritchett-Tucker clan posted from their big Modern Family reunion last November, which featured them all dressed in dark colors around a framed portrait of Burrell, did look a little ominous when late-night host Jimmy Fallon unveiled it to the camera. EW.com, 2 Mar. 2024 One of the more ominous findings for Mr. Biden in the new poll is that the historical edge Democrats have held with working-class voters of color who did not attend college continues to erode. Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2024 In the clip, Grande sits in an ominous waiting room while going over a consent form. Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 1 Mar. 2024 After a 10-minute or so wait, the sound of slippers scraping the floor breaks the quiet, never sounding more ominous to me than when French walks down his hallway and turns the corner into the living room. Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2024 Two games into Inter Miami’s season, the signs are ominous. Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Also featured are local artist Jacqui Crocetta’s pretty but ominous paintings of beaches and tidal pools contaminated by stray plastic, which are often painted on actual plastic (from the same series recently shown at the McLean Project for the Arts). Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ominous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see omen

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ominous was in 1580

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Dictionary Entries Near ominous

Cite this Entry

“Ominous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ominous. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ominous

adjective
om·​i·​nous ˈäm-ə-nəs How to pronounce ominous (audio)
: being or showing a sign of evil or misfortune to come
ominous clouds
ominously adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on ominous

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