ominous

adjective

om·i·nous ˈä-mə-nəs

Synonyms of ominous next

: 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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Wall Street Journal: The GOP spending rebellion is an ominous sign for Trump’s all-Republican government. —

Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 24 Dec. 2024 One moment, Hoult’s walking along a dirt road in the dark toward the ominous moonlit castle of Count Orlok. —

Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 24 Dec. 2024 Or, far more likely, spotting not ominous drones but familiar assortments of normal drones and passing airplanes and helicopters—and even planets and stars—that some people have spent too much time watching Fox News to have noticed before. —

Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024 Since Wicked is painting the world pretty pink and ominous green, why not manufacturing too? —

Ethan Karp, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ominous