ominous

English

Etymology

From Latin ōminōsus (“full of foreboding”), from ōmen (“forbidden fruit, omen”), from ōs (“the mouth”) + -men.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɒmɪnəs/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈɑmɪnəs/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈɔmɪnəs/, /ˈɒmɪnəs/
• Hyphenation: o‧mi‧nous

Adjective

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 (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[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.

Usage notes

• 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

• ominously
• ominousness

Related terms

• omen
• abomination

Collocations

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

of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen

• Bulgarian: зловещ (bg) (zlovešt), злокобен (bg) (zlokoben)
• Catalan: ominós (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不祥 (zh) (bùxiáng)

• Danish: varslende
• Dutch: onheilspellend (nl)
• Esperanto: omena (eo)
• Finnish: enteellinen (fi)
• Georgian: ავბედი (avbedi)
• German: ominös (de), ahnungsvoll, schicksalsschwer, unheilschwanger
• Hungarian: ominózus (hu)
• Italian: predittivo (it) m
• Japanese: 不吉 (ja) (ふきつ, fukitsu)
• Macedonian: злокобен (zlokoben), зловестен (zlovesten)
• Maori: tamaki
• Portuguese: ominoso (pt), agourento (pt) m
• Romanian: sinistru (ro), prevestitor (ro)
• Russian: предвеща́ющий (ru) (predveščájuščij)
• Spanish: ominoso (es), siniestro (es)
• Swedish: ominös (sv), olycksbådande (sv), illavarslande (sv)
• Telugu: అరిష్ట సూచకమైన (ariṣṭa sūcakamaina)
• Ukrainian: прові́сницький (provísnycʹkyj), проро́чий (proróčyj)

giving indication of a coming ill

• Armenian: չարագուշակ (hy) (čʻaragušak)
• Catalan: ominós (ca)
• Czech: zlověstný
• Danish: ildevarslende, uheldsvanger
• Dutch: onheilspellend (nl)
• Estonian: kurjakuulutav, pahaendeline
• Finnish: pahaenteinen (fi), uhkaava (fi)
• French: de mauvais augure, omineux (fr), menaçant (fr), sinistre (fr)
• Georgian: ავბედი (avbedi)
• German: unheilsschwanger, verhängnisvoll, unheilvoll (de), unheilbringend
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀπαίσιος (apaísios)

• Hungarian: baljós (hu), baljóslatú (hu)
• Italian: malaugurante, infausto (it) m, nefasto (it) m
• Latin: dīrus
• Macedonian: злокобен (zlokoben), зловестен (zlovesten)
• Maori: tamaki
• Polish: złowróżbny (pl), złowieszczy (pl)
• Portuguese: agourento (pt) m, ominoso (pt) m
• Romanian: fatidic (ro), de rău augur
• Russian: злове́щий (ru) (zlovéščij)
• Spanish: ominoso (es), agorero (es)
• Swedish: illavarslande (sv), olycksbådande (sv)
• Telugu: అశుభసూచకమైన (aśubhasūcakamaina)
• Turkish: uğursuz (tr), meşum (tr), kara (tr)
• Ukrainian: злові́щий (zlovíščyj)

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

• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} mencekam (id) , ^{(please verify)} gelagat buruk (id)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} ziyandar (ku) (1), ^{(please verify)} bêyom (ku) (2), ^{(please verify)} bêxêr (ku) (2), ^{(please verify)} bêoxir (ku) (2)

• Latin: ^{(please verify)} ominosus

Further reading

• “ominous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “ominous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• suimono