ominous
Suggesting impending harm
Ominous describes something that suggests bad things to come—threatening or foreboding.
An ominous sky portends a storm.
An ominous silence precedes bad news.
The letter arrived with an ominous warning.
The word carries a sense of dread without specifying the threat, letting imagination fill the gap.
Conveying threat or danger
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- balefulThreatening harm or misfortune
- direExtremely serious or urgent
- grimHarsh and foreboding
intimidating · looming · foreboding · hostile · dangerous · perilous · alarming · aggressive
Total absence of light
- shadowLight blocked by object
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- storm cloudsRain-bearing atmospheric formations
- thunderStorm's acoustic aftermath
fog · mist · twilight · dusk · eerie · haunting · creepy · macabre
Prone to misfortune
- ill-omenedPortending misfortune ahead
- ill-starredFated to fail
- unpropitiousNot favorable for success
- fatefulDetermining future outcomes
bleak · unfavorable · adverse · calamitous · disastrous · tragic · unfortunate · ill-boding
Intense anticipatory fear
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
- uneaseMild persistent worry
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
- misgivingUneasy feeling of doubt
premonition · presentiment · anxiety · disquiet · warning · intuition · hunch · chill
menacing
Conveying threat or danger
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- balefulThreatening harm or misfortune
- direExtremely serious or urgent
grim · intimidating · looming · foreboding · hostile · dangerous · perilous · alarming · aggressive · malevolent
darkness
Total absence of light
- shadowLight blocked by object
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- storm cloudsRain-bearing atmospheric formations
thunder · fog · mist · twilight · dusk · eerie · haunting · creepy · macabre · unsettling
unlucky
Prone to misfortune
- ill-omenedPortending misfortune ahead
- ill-starredFated to fail
- unpropitiousNot favorable for success
fateful · bleak · unfavorable · adverse · calamitous · disastrous · tragic · unfortunate · ill-boding · black
dread
Intense anticipatory fear
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
- uneaseMild persistent worry
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
misgiving · premonition · presentiment · anxiety · disquiet · warning · intuition · hunch · chill · shiver
portent
Sign of future calamity
ill-fated · doomed · oracle · augury · divination · apparition · specter · haunted · occult · cryptic
- fearfear, dread, afraid, fright, frightened
- dramatic tonesintense, tense, suspenseful, foreboding, menacing
- dungeondungeon, oubliette, cell bars, torture chamber, chains
- fortunelucky, luck, fortune, fate, destiny
- Gothic horrorghost story, haunted houses, Dracula, vampires, Frankenstein
- menacingthreatening, intimidating, menacing, sinister, foreboding
ominousauspicious
Indicating future success
propitious · promising · favorable · favourable · encouraging
ominousreassuring
Restoring calm or confidence
comforting · unthreatening · benign · harmless · calming
- ominous signThreatening warning indicator
- ominous toneMood suggesting coming harm