Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Menacing; threatening: ominous black clouds; ominous rumblings of discontent.
- adj. Of or being an omen, especially an evil one.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Conveying some omen; serving as a sign or token; significant.
- Of good omen; auspicious.
- Of ill omen; giving indication of coming ill; portentous; inauspicious; unlucky.
Wiktionary
- adj. Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant.
- adj. Specifically, giving indication of a coming ill; being an evil omen; threatening; portentous; inauspicious.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant; portentous; -- formerly used both in a favorable and unfavorable sense; now chiefly in the latter; foreboding or foreshowing evil; inauspicious.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. presaging ill fortune
- adj. threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
Etymologies
- From Latin ominosus ("full of foreboding"), from omen ("forebiden fruit, omen"), from os ("the mouth") + -men (Wiktionary)
- Latin ōminōsus, from ōmen, ōmin-, omen. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Devil's Reef, the Devil's Horse-shoe or by some other term ominous of shipwrecks.”
“What's even more ominous is that the trendlines aren't all that great, heading into October.”
The Huffington Post: Chris Weigant: Obama Poll Watch: September, 2010
“A wave of hateful messages and death threats hit the University, and was joined soon enough by a few political leaders and wealthy donors instructing officials in ominous tones to cancel my visit to the campus.”
“Within a week, Syria agrees to a returning US Envoy, that should tell you something real ominous is brewing.”
Officials: President Obama reconsidering July 4 invitations to Iran
“He put the question seemingly to the glowing log, and, as if in ominous foreshadow, it flared brightly and crumbled away in a burst of sparks.”
“It is no accident that the same attorney general who has withheld information about who is being detained and why has also repeatedly warned in ominous tones that more terrorist attacks are just around the corner.”
“Things looked ominous from the start for the Jayhawks.”
“I would wager something ominous is going to happen.”
Think Progress » Source to Stephanopoulos: President Bush Directly Involved In Leak Scandal
“As for Crassus, he was sprawled on the consular front bench opposite, with his arms folded and his legs casually outstretched, regarding Pompey with an expression of ominous calm.”
“But if the panic spreads to Spain, a very significant economy which is several times larger, the situation could become far more ominous, which is why so many investors are hitting the "sell" button on their trading desks.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ominous’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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3/4 year Vocab List
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, awe, buffoon, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron and 96 more...
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3/4 year Vocab List
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, awe, buffoon, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron and 96 more...
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2nd part
prelude, ample, escalate, prototype, accession, acquisition, archives, zealot, indict, verdict, intimidating, timid and 454 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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goodkitten's list
there is going to be a lot of words...
flammivomous, pep, electrolyzation, research, constrain, why, refrigerator, invisible, windblown, curate's egg, echoism, drumble and 103 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
replete, steeped, eminent, indiscriminate, voracious, automaton, prognosticate, technology, abound, matron, tinge, compound and 297 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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The Wonderer
For better writing.
emulate, intangible, comprehensible, detest, feasible, ominous, tarnished, betrothed, eccentric, folley, interloper, jaded and 1 more...
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The Red Pyramid
SAS Gr. 7 EAL Book Read
amulet, relic, hieroglyphics, decipher, ominous, curator, boomerang, vague, agitated, obelisk, linger, hereditary and 37 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1901 more...
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ash vocab
flippant, fillip, expiate, explicate, extirpate, facile, florid, fealty, allegiance, fetid, febrile, pert and 134 more...
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MyList
peter out, fraying, jump on the bandw..., indignation, eclectic, hung up, salutary, hoary, warped, glaring, blue-collar, concomitant and 105 more...
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Favorites
disparage, partisan, cupidity, hokum, tussle, odious, dastardly, overture, plane, chronic, peering, peer and 328 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, replete, steeped, eminent, perceive, intrepid, compound, automaton, reticent, interminable, drudgery and 288 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for ominous.
rocana01pd2018 Clockwork Prince
Page 102
She had found her room chilly, dark, and more than slightly (ominous). Oct 24, 2012
eleininger "It was ominous at night. Dim light from the glass-domed ceiling cast crosshatched shadows across the walls like a giant spiderweb" (The Red Pyramid, p. 18) The Red Pyramid Oct 23, 2012
gcastro the exorcist is ominous Oct 1, 2010