ominous

ominous, portentous, fateful, inauspicious, unpropitious basically mean having a menacing or threatening character or quality.

What is ominous has or seems to have the character of an omen, especially of an omen forecasting evil; the term commonly suggests a frightening or alarming quality that bodes no good, and it may imply impending disaster

{

there was something ominous about it, and in intangible ways one was made to feel that the worst was about to come— London

}

{

my ears were startled by the . . . uproar of yelling and shouting. It sounded ominous, but ... I had to go on— Heiser

}

What is portentous has or seems to have the character of a portent; portentous, however, less often than ominous suggests a threatening character; it usually means little more than prodigious, monstrous, or almost frighteningly marvelous, solemn, or impressive

{

his gravity was unusual, portentous, and immeasurable— Dickens

}

{

the assertion that children of six are "mighty prophets, seers blessed," . . . seemed to him portentous nonsense— Babbitt

}

{

it is portentous . . . that here at midnight, in our little town a mourning figure walks, and will not rest— Lindsay

}

What is fateful has or seems to have the quality, character, or importance decreed for it by fate or suggests inevitability

{

the fateful conference that brought on war

}

{

to meet a Persian, any Persian, in New York seemed a fateful coincidence— Mehdevi

}

but the term often means little more than momentous or appallingly decisive

{

the great cases that make the work of the United States Supreme Court of fateful significance— Cohen

}

What is inauspicious (compare auspicious under FAVORABLE) is or seems to be attended by signs that are distinctly unfavorable

{

an inauspicious horoscope

}

But inauspicious usually means nothing more than unlucky, unfortunate, or unlikely to succeed

{

an inauspicious beginning of a great project

}

{

you come at a singularly inauspicious moment, when I need all my strength to forget the world— Sabatini

}

What is unpropitious (compare propitious under FAVORABLE)carries or seems to carry no sign of favoring one's ends or intentions

{

unpropitious omens

}

In its more common extended sense the term means merely unfavorable, dis-couraging, or harmful

{

made a by-election necessary at a time highly unpropitious for the Government— Cockburn

}

{

sleep and exercise are unpropitious to learning— Jowett

}

Analogous words: *sinister, baleful, malign, malefic, maleficent: threatening, menacing (see THREATEN)