ominously

Examples

• All

• The sky darkened ominously as the storm approached.

• On this night, it was howling ominously, trumpeting a storm.

  Fiction book (1996)

• The room was ominously still except for the gentle tick of a clock.

  Fiction book (1990)

• On the way to the meeting, her mother ominously warns the children: "Whatever you see, do not say anything."

  Academic text (2008)

• Second, and even more ominously, Thomas understood Spiritualism itself to be on trial.

  Academic text (2018)

• The restored silence now pressed around him as ominously as the previous noise.

  Fiction book (1993)

• For lawyers returning from abroad, a different time zone looms ominously on the horizon.

  Academic text (1995)

• Then he swung back to face her, the glitter in his blue eyes ominously cold and frightening.

  Fiction book (1994)

• Edward inspects his father, who lies semiconscious in bed, breath rattling ominously in his chest.

  Fiction book (1995)

• He spent three days being grilled in a windowless room with a foot-high stack of papers ominously sitting on the table.

  Julie & Julia (2009)

Synonyms

M

menacingly

vsominously

5 6.3

In a way that seems likely to hurt or scare someone

hints at upcoming bad events rather than an immediate hostile threat

P

portentously

vsominously

• Formal

1 9.0

In a way that shows something bad or important is about to happen

focuses on harm or threat rather than importance or grandeur

S

sinisterly

vsominously

1 7.5

In a way that seems evil or threatening

points to future bad or unpleasant events rather than moral evil

F

forebodingly

vsominously

1 8.4

In a way that shows something bad will happen

has identical meaning but is the general warning sense

Antonyms

R

reassuringly

5 3.5

In a way that makes someone feel less worried

How Ominous

threateningly

2 5.5

menacingly

5 6.3

forebodingly

1 8.4

ominously

11 6.9

uneasily

11 4.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology