ominous

Meaning

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Giving the feeling that something unpleasant or dangerous is about to happen.

   Grammar: Goes before a noun or after a linking verb: an ominous silence; the sky looked ominous.

   Patterns

   • an ominous sign
   • ominous for someone
   • sound ominous

   Dark clouds gathered on the horizon, an ominous sign for the picnic.

   There was an ominous silence after the manager read the email.

   The engine made an ominous rattling noise before it died.

Word forms

Common combinations

ominous sign

The falling sales figures were an ominous sign for the company.

ominous silence

An ominous silence settled over the room.

ominous clouds

Ominous clouds rolled in just as the game began.

ominous warning

The report contained an ominous warning about rising debt.

sound ominous

The doctor's pause made the news sound ominous.

look ominous

The empty streets looked ominous in the half-light.

Synonyms and how they differ

threatening

Threatening can describe a person or thing actively menacing you, while ominous only hints at future trouble.

foreboding

As an adjective, foreboding is more literary and stresses the dread felt, whereas ominous describes the sign itself.

sinister

Sinister suggests hidden evil or bad intentions, while ominous merely warns that something bad may follow.

portentous

Portentous is much more formal and can mean solemn or self-important as well as warning of trouble.

Opposites

Word family

ominously adverb

in a way that suggests trouble ahead

ominousness noun

the quality of seeming threatening

omen noun

a sign of something that will happen, good or bad

Commonly confused: ominous or omen?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ominous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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