omen

noun

ˈō-mən How to pronounce omen (audio)
Definition of omennext
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

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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 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 An omen of the future — The firing is an event worth paying attention to, says Andon Labs CEO Lukas Petersson, because if AI keeps getting better at its current rate, more of us might be managed by AI bosses in the near future. — Billy Perrigo, Time, 14 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
  1. portent
  2. forerunner
  3. augury
  4. prediction
  5. foreshadowing
  6. precursor
  7. presage
  8. hint
Noun
  • His mode of reiteration and attenuation is an ominous portent for the future of fiction.
    — David Denby, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Things are also tough for their friends, Elle (Yasmin Finney) and Tao (William Gao), whose constant bickering seems to be an ominous portent for their on-again-off-again relationship.
    — David Mack, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
Definition of portent
Noun
  • 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
  • One of the forerunners today in Madeira and the Azores is António Maçanita from Azores Wine Company.
    — Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 20 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
  • In contrast, all there is of the future is our predictions, hopes, and beliefs about what might happen, which are again states of our minds in the present.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The league is also asking prediction markets to stop offering predictions on officiating, such as how many flags will be thrown.
    — Luke Barr, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of prediction
Noun
  • On stage, the audience is the camera, peering into a cutaway of set designer Fly Davis’ ominous, two-story house, lit with foreboding foreshadowing by Anna Watson.
    — Frank Rizzo, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • What drags the installment down, however, is the sheer predictability and lack of dissent, with seven out of the nine votes being unanimous — a foreshadowing of seasons to come.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
Definition of foreshadowing
Noun
  • Losing to the Clippers was the precursor to the Jazz blowing up their team a year later; Utah only came out of hibernation this past summer.
    — John Hollinger, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • But fantasy sports, an almost quaint precursor to the instantaneous forms of gambling proliferating now, remains hugely prevalent.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of precursor
Noun
  • Sometimes, the departure of an underperforming executive or official presages improvements ahead.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
  • But a lack of accountability presages failure for California’s big reform.
    — Rachel Canter, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Definition of presage
Noun
  • But the Italianate fountains at the entrance is your first hint that a resort wonderland awaits.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2026
  • While there is no water vapor, JWST has picked up hints of solid particles of crystalline water-ice.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of hint

Browse Nearby Words

omegas
omen
omens
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Cite this Entry

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

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More from Merriam-Webster on omen

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about omen

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