Synonyms of inauspicious

inauspicious

adjective

ˌi-ˌnȯ-ˈspi-shəs 

as in ominous

being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come

this many problems so early in the project is a most inauspicious sign

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ominous
• sinister
• menacing
• bleak
• threatening
• direful
• unfortunate
• dark
• portentous
• murky
• lonely
• somber
• dire
• darkening
• baleful
• ill
• foreboding
• desolate
• minatory
• depressive
• unfavorable
• depressing
• black
• ill-boding
• gray
• doomy
• cold
• dim
• morbid
• unpropitious
• dismal
• cheerless
• gloomy
• unpromising
• lonesome
• dreary
• discouraging
• saturnine
• lugubrious
• troubled
• miserable
• morose
• sepulchral
• sullen
• glum
• disconsolate
• elegiac
• unlucky
• comfortless
• forlorn
• funereal
• hopeless
• drear
• cloudy
• disheartening
• wretched
• chill
• evil
• godforsaken
• malignant
• ill-fated
• plutonian
• tenebrous
• dreich
• ill-starred
• malign
• tenebrific
• sunless
• Cimmerian
• star-crossed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• favorable
• promising
• auspicious
• bright
• benign
• golden
• prosperous
• hopeful
• encouraging
• unthreatening
• propitious
• heartening

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of inauspicious

For a team whose 2025 season was derailed by relentless push-back of their interior line, the situation is unquestionably inauspicious. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026

While this is an inauspicious return for a high-profile series headlined by big stars, the 43% slide matches that of Running Point and is better than the 63% decline for The Four Seasons, both of which have been renewed for a third season. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 28 July 2026

In my line of work, there are few things as inauspicious as a plucky gal determined to make the best of a bad situation. — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026

Spain came into the 2026 tournament with a top-three FIFA ranking and dreams of bringing another trophy back to the Iberian Peninsula, but their quest for a world title got off to an inauspicious start. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026