Wiktionary

ominous

English

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Dark clouds are often considered to be ominous because they are thought of as metaphorical of oncoming negative events.

Etymology

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From Latin ōminōsus (“full of foreboding”), from ōmen (“forbidden fruit, omen”), from Old Latin osmen, of uncertain origin, with many origins proposed (see ōmen).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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ominous (comparative more ominous, superlative most ominous)

  1. Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant.
    Synonyms: momentous, omenic, portentous; see also Thesaurus:important
    • 1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 9, page 324:
      In Cornouaille, Brittany, it is popularly believed that the weather of the last six days of December and the first six of January prognosticates the weather of the twelve months; but in other parts of Brittany it is the first twelve days of January that are supposed to be ominous of the weather for the year.
  2. Specifically, giving indication of a coming ill; being an evil omen
    Synonyms: threatening, portentous, inauspicious; see also Thesaurus:ominous
    • California poll support for Jerry Brown's tax increases has ominous implications for U.S. taxpayers too Los Angeles Times Headline April 25, 2011
    • 2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in The A.V. Club‎[1]:
      The idea of a merchant selling both totems of pure evil and frozen yogurt (he calls it frogurt!) is amusing in itself, as is the idea that frogurt could be cursed, but it’s really the Shopkeeper’s quicksilver shift from ominous doomsaying to chipper salesmanship that sells the sequence.
    • 2021 April 23, Ronald Brownstein, “The racist ‘replacement theory’ has it all backward”, in CNN‎[2]:
      After growing substantially in the 1990s and modestly in the 2000s, the total number of American kids fell from 2010 through 2019, an ominous milestone.

Usage notes

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  • Formerly used both in a favorable and unfavorable sense; now chiefly in the latter; foreboding or foreshadowing evil; inauspicious; as, an ominous dread.

Derived terms

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Collocations

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with nouns
  • ominous sign
  • ominous silence
  • ominous warning
  • ominous cloud
  • ominous note
  • ominous sound
  • ominous shadow
  • ominous threat
  • ominous music
  • ominous tone
  • ominous implication
  • ominous message
  • ominous presence
  • ominous development
  • ominous voice
  • ominous portent
  • ominous turn
  • ominous sky
  • ominous figure
  • ominous dream
  • ominous event
  • ominous trend
  • ominous change
  • ominous day
  • ominous beginning
  • ominous growl
  • ominous cry
  • ominous signal
  • ominous pattern

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading

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Anagrams

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