ill omen
Portent of misfortune
An ill omen is a sign believed to foretell misfortune or disaster.
Black cats crossing one's path, broken mirrors, and ravens have all served as ill omens in various cultures: The flickering lights felt like an ill omen.
The phrase often appears in figurative contexts where something simply feels like a bad sign: Her silence was an ill omen for the negotiations.
- bad signForeboding indicator
- portentSign of future calamity
- writing on the wallObvious omen of trouble
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- curseInvoked harm through words
doom · harbinger · warning · dread · black cat · raven · death knell · premonition · sinister · dark cloud · gathering storm · misfortune · superstition · knock on wood · prophecy · unlucky · thirteenth · broken mirror
- omensportent, portents, signs, augury, harbinger
- superstitionblack cat, broken mirror, Friday the 13th, walking under ladder, evil eye
- foresightforesight, precognition, futurology, forethought, premonition
ill omenblessing
Prayer seeking divine favor
benediction · divine favor · good fortune · godsend · lucky charm
ill, omen, ills, omens, ominous, ominously, abominate, abomination, abominable