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ominous

 - 3 dictionary results

om⋅i⋅nous

[om-uh-nuhs]
–adjective
1. portending evil or harm; foreboding; threatening; inauspicious: an ominous bank of dark clouds.
2. having the significance of an omen.

Origin:
1580–90; < L ōminōsus portentous, equiv. to ōmin- (s. of ōmen) omen + -ōsus -ous


om⋅i⋅nous⋅ly, adverb
om⋅i⋅nous⋅ness, noun


Ominous, portentous, threatening, menacing, fateful are adjectives describing that which forebodes a serious, significant, and often harmful outcome. Ominous, derived from omen “a predictor of outcomes,” usually suggests evil or damaging eventualities: ominous storm clouds; an ominous silence. Portentous, although it may suggest evil results, often stresses a momentous or very important outcome: a portentous moment in history; a portentous escalation of hostilities. Threatening may suggest calamity or great harm but sometimes mere unpleasantness: a threatening rumble from the volcano; A threatening look from his brother caused him to quickly change the subject. Menacing always suggests serious damage as an outcome: a disease menacing the entire population; He advanced with a menacing swagger. Fateful most often stresses the great or decisive importance of what it describes: a fateful encounter between two future leaders; a fateful day that changed our world.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ominous
om·i·nous   (ŏm'ə-nəs)   
adj.  
  1. Menacing; threatening: ominous black clouds; ominous rumblings of discontent.

  2. Of or being an omen, especially an evil one.


[Latin ōminōsus, from ōmen, ōmin-, omen.]
om'i·nous·ly adv., om'i·nous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ominous 
1589, from L. ominosus "full of foreboding," from omen (gen. ominis) "foreboding" (see omen).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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