Synonyms of ominous

ominous

adjective

ˈä-mə-nəs 

as in sinister

being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come

that comment about downsizing from the company president sounded ominous

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective ominous differ from other similar words?

The words fateful and portentous are common synonyms of ominous. While all three words mean "having a menacing or threatening aspect," ominous implies having a menacing, alarming character foreshadowing evil or disaster.

ominous rumblings from the volcano

Where would fateful be a reasonable alternative to ominous?

The words fateful and ominous can be used in similar contexts, but fateful suggests being of momentous or decisive importance.

the fateful conference that led to war

When can portentous be used instead of ominous?

Although the words portentous and ominous have much in common, portentous suggests being frighteningly big or impressive but now seldom definitely connotes forewarning of calamity.

an eerie and portentous stillness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ominous

The beginnings of it are depicted in true disaster movie style, with ominous music and a collapsing electric pylon that causes a faulty cable to fall to the ground. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2025

Opening with ominous footage of electrical towers and power lines trembling in high winds, the film swiftly foreshadows the disaster with drone shots of small towns surrounded by miles of forest. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025

The agitated, ominous vibration of giant power lines and quaking transmission towers feels like a Greek chorus throughout Paul Greengrass’s intense new wildfire thriller, The Lost Bus. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2025

In another ominous development for his future, Simmons' longtime agent Bernie Lee has ended their partnership. —Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Sep. 2025

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