Ominous definition: a warning before the trouble

The ominous definition, with what it describes

What does ominous mean? It means giving the impression that something bad is going to happen. It carries a feeling of threat or dread. You will find it describing:

• Sounds: an ominous creak from the ceiling, an ominous rumble.
• Sights: ominous clouds, an ominous crack in the wall.
• Silence and words: an ominous silence, an ominous warning.
• Numbers and trends: ominous sales figures, an ominous rise in cases.

Whatever it describes, the ominous meaning always points forward in time, toward something feared, often something imminent. A neat definition of ominous for notes: threatening, like a warning sign.

Ominous in sentences

• The engine made an ominous grinding noise halfway up the hill.
• There was an ominous pause before the doctor spoke.
• Rivers rose ominously after three days of monsoon rain.
• The teacher's ominous smile told the class a surprise test was coming.
• Economists called the slowdown in hiring an ominous sign for the rest of the year.

From omen to ominous

The adjective is recorded in English from the 1580s, borrowed from Latin ominosus, built on omen, a sign or forewarning. Early on it could simply mean "carrying an omen" without saying whether the omen was good or bad. The adverb ominously even had an early favorable sense, "with a good omen," but that use died out by the late 1600s. Today the word is used only for bad signs.

How to use it naturally

Ominous works both before a noun (an ominous letter) and after verbs like look, sound, seem or feel (the sky looks ominous). Strong pairings include ominous silence, ominous sign, ominous clouds, ominous tone, ominous warning and the short reply That sounds ominous.

The adverb ominously often goes with sounds and movement: "the door creaked ominously," "prices are ominously high."

A playful use is common in chat. If a friend writes "We need to talk later," you might answer "Ominous," joking that the message sounds like bad news.

Menacing, sinister, foreboding: the neighbors

A barking dog can be menacing; dark clouds cannot. A plan can be sinister; a number usually cannot. Ominous fits best when the thing is a clue to what may come. For quietly harmful things, see insidious; for openly evil ones, see nefarious.

Slips learners make

Ominous is not for things that are merely large or impressive. "An ominous mountain" works only if the mountain seems to threaten danger, not just because it is tall. Also avoid "omnious" or "ominus"; the spelling follows omen: o-m-i-n-o-u-s.

Because they look alike, learners sometimes link it with omnipresent or omnibus because they look alike. Those come from Latin omnis, all, and have nothing to do with omens. Browse more useful adjectives in the everyday vocabulary collection.