SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS

ominous

adjective

Suggesting that something unpleasant may happen.

Compare the alternatives Definition and examples

Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.

Suggesting trouble

Closest synonyms

threatening menacing foreboding sinister inauspicious forbidding portentous

Related words and expressions

These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.

Usage distinction

Ominous signals possible harm; portentous can also describe inflated or overly solemn manner.

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Test this word in the Comprehensive Synonym Exam

CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT

See ominous in use

An ominous crack interrupted the silence in the old barn.

Dictionary practice example.

Three unanswered messages from the venue manager seemed ominous to the organizers of a weekend craft fair.

From When One Change Leads to Another.

Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.

Synonym reference scope and sources

The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.

Princeton WordNet 3.0: selected lexical senses

How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license

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