as in sinister
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
that comment about downsizing from the company president sounded ominous
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Recent Examples of ominous
Despite ominous skies and a little rain, more than 400 people attended the fifth edition of the Unplugged Festival at Paulus Park in Lake Zurich on Sunday.
—
Gregory Harutunian, Chicago Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
The responses ranged from cringe-worthy to legitimately ominous.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Enzo Maresca’s ominous words in his press conference at Cobham on Thursday left little room to avoid the conclusion that Colwill had suffered a significant injury.
—Liam Twomey, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2025
Things kick off on an ominous note as 11-year-old Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) continues to wait for her mom to pick her up at school long after her classmates and teachers have departed.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ominous
Gregory Harutunian, Chicago Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
The responses ranged from cringe-worthy to legitimately ominous.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Enzo Maresca’s ominous words in his press conference at Cobham on Thursday left little room to avoid the conclusion that Colwill had suffered a significant injury.
—Liam Twomey, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2025
Things kick off on an ominous note as 11-year-old Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) continues to wait for her mom to pick her up at school long after her classmates and teachers have departed.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ominous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ominous
Adjective
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For The Fin, his team worked to make the dim light extra grainy, giving it a particularly sinister quality.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Aug. 2025
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This turns out to be another name for Galactus, a surprisingly scary Marvel villain played with sinister sincerity by Ralph Ineson.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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The youngest boy was charged with assault, while a 15-year-old boy was hit with assault, menacing and weapon possession charges after the victim was stabbed in the armpit and abdomen in Maria Hernandez Park near Starr St. and Irving Ave.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
21 Aug. 2025
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That’s the menacing question the political classes have been whispering all summer.—
Laura Washington,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Directed by Paul Schrader with a script by Bret Easton Ellis, this spiritually bleak L.A. drama features Lohan’s most daring performance, and probably the only one that manages to break completely with her childhood and adolescent roles.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
9 Aug. 2025
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The situation is bleak enough that, even if aid increases rapidly in the coming weeks, deaths from starvation are almost certain to rise.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ominous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ominous. Accessed 24 Aug. 2025.
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