Thesaurus results for OMEN

omen

noun

ˈō-mən

Definition of omen

as in portent

something believed to be a sign or warning of a future event some people still believe that a black cat crossing your path is a bad omen

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of omen On the verge of their first three-game sweep of the year, Vitello’s expedited return to the clubhouse was a bad omen for the Giants. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026 No omens, no fear—just another extraordinarily beautiful experience locked into memory. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 17 Aug. 2026 Black cats can be seen as bad omens, sometimes associated with witches and with the old superstition to not let a black cat cross your path. — Maddie Rhodes, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026 Portents and omens, often thought of as signs, have long been important in Hoodoo. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for omen

Recent Examples of Synonyms for omen

Noun

Grâce à la merveilleuse découverte de la Science Chrétienne, nos prières pour le monde sont efficaces et portent leurs fruits.

— The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Sep. 2026
Another way to see the Wasian moment is less as a portent of Asians being absorbed into whiteness and more as evidence of the desire to not allow that to happen.

— E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of portent

Noun

Dubbed the ‘American Turtle’ for its appearance, the submarine made three attempts to blow up British ships without success, but is considered the forerunner of modern submarines.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026
Margaret and Alice are the forerunners of Lucy and Ethel, and Shakespeare’s comedy, written expressly to entertain, gives us a sense of what an Elizabethan-era situation comedy might look like.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026

Definition of forerunner

Noun

But the most promising augury for season two is that Widow’s Bay is old-school monster-of-the-week episodic television.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 17 June 2026
The rule of thumb is that if a party sees a mass exodus of its members in Congress, that’s a bad augury.

— Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 5 Sep. 2025

Definition of augury

Noun

Though these predictions exist weeks ahead of events, their impact on preparedness is nebulous.

— Vibhu Krishna, STAT, 2 Oct. 2026
From the time of Bitcoin’s 2009 launch, crypto had occupied the murkier end of legal gray zones; in the eyes of CFTC regulators, crypto prediction markets, which inherited the moral and legal residue of gambling prohibition, were doubly marked.

— Simon Denny, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of prediction

Noun

Back in the series premiere, the Hal-o-gram’s first words serve as cheeky foreshadowing for the big reveal that ends that episode (aka revealing Hal’s dead body).

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Sep. 2026
What detracts from the film is the clumsily emphatic foreshadowing of a dramatic plot turn, which is pretty much spelled out by an alarm company technician who sells Miguel on the wisdom of upgrading to a next-level home security system.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of foreshadowing

Noun

The process, which typically is a precursor to involuntary staff reductions, just concluded with the cooling-off period for those who had opted in ending this past weekend, sources said.

— Dade Hayes, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026
The coal and steel organization was the first among European institutions that were precursors to what eventually became the European Union.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of precursor

Noun

Though some concept drawings were released by the company shortly after the project began in 2008, more recent renditions have been little more than hints showing the craft as an outline in the haze, with only the nose and cockpit showing clearly.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Oct. 2026
Though Kid Rock has not yet discussed his new album — or his relationship with Allen — beyond a brief Instagram post, past comments might offer a hint into his decision to include someone who’s been all but banished from the country music industry.

— Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of hint

Browse Nearby Words

omegas

omen

omens

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Omen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/omen. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of omen

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on omen

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

discreet

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes