Meaning & use
inauspicious beginning
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Meanings
phrasecountableformal
A start that seems to suggest things will go badly.
Grammar: Countable: an inauspicious beginning, or inauspicious beginnings in the plural.
Patterns
- an inauspicious beginning to something
- have an inauspicious beginning
- after an inauspicious beginning
The team made an inauspicious beginning, losing its first four games.
After an inauspicious beginning, the business grew steadily for a decade.
His speech had an inauspicious beginning when the microphone failed twice.
phrasecountableformalliterary
A first sign or event that looks unlucky or unfavorable.
Grammar: Often used of omens or early signs: an inauspicious beginning for the voyage.
Patterns
- an inauspicious beginning for someone
- an inauspicious beginning to a journey
Storm clouds at dawn were an inauspicious beginning for the voyage.
The broken mirror felt like an inauspicious beginning to their new life together.
Word forms
| plural | inauspicious beginnings |
|---|
Common combinations
- an inauspicious beginning to
- It was an inauspicious beginning to a career that later flourished.
- make an inauspicious beginning
- The new manager made an inauspicious beginning by forgetting everyone's name.
- after an inauspicious beginning
- After an inauspicious beginning, the play became a hit.
- an inauspicious start
- The film had an inauspicious start at the box office.
- despite an inauspicious beginning
- Despite an inauspicious beginning, the talks ended in agreement.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unpromising start
- More neutral and common in speech; it says the signs are not good without hinting at bad luck.
- bad omen
- Used for a single sign of future trouble, not for the whole early period of an activity.
- rocky start
- Informal and less formal; it suggests early difficulties rather than a warning of failure.
Opposites
Word family
- inauspicious adjective
- Showing signs that something will not succeed.
- auspicious adjective
- Showing signs of future success; the opposite.
- auspiciously adverb
- In a way that suggests future success.
Commonly confused: inauspicious beginning or inauspicious? inauspicious beginning or suspicious?
inauspicious beginning vs inauspicious
This is the adjective; the phrase needs a noun after it, as in 'an inauspicious beginning'.
inauspicious beginning vs suspicious
Suspicious means not trusting someone or something; inauspicious is about signs that things will go badly.
Practice
The novel had ______ beginning: the first chapter was rejected by three publishers.
Choose one answer.
'Beginning' is singular and countable, so it needs 'an', and the meaning is a bad start. 'Auspicious' would mean the start looked good, and 'inauspiciously' is an adverb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “inauspicious beginning”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.