In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.
OMINOUS
ill, inauspicious, ominous
(adjective) presaging ill fortune; “ill omens”; “ill predictions”; “my words with inauspicious thunderings shook heaven”- P.B.Shelley; “a dead and ominous silence prevailed”; “a by-election at a time highly unpropitious for the Government”
baleful, forbidding, menacing, minacious, minatory, ominous, sinister, threatening
(adjective) threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments; “a baleful look”; “forbidding thunderclouds”; “his tone became menacing”; “ominous rumblings of discontent”; “sinister storm clouds”; “a sinister smile”; “his threatening behavior”; “ugly black clouds”; “the situation became ugly”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
ominous (comparative more ominous, superlative most ominous)
Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant.
Specifically, giving indication of a coming ill; being an evil omen
Synonyms: threatening, portentous, inauspicious
• California poll support for Jerry Brown's tax increases has ominous implications for U.S. taxpayers too Los Angeles Times Headline April 25, 2011
Usage notes
• Formerly used both in a favorable and unfavorable sense; now chiefly in the latter; foreboding or foreshadowing evil; inauspicious; as, an ominous dread.
• Nouns to which "ominous" is often applied: sign, silence, warning, cloud, note, sound, shadow, threat, music, tone, implication, message, presence, development, voice, portent, turn, sky, figure, dream, event, trend, change, day, beginning, growl, cry, signal, pattern.
Synonyms
• portentous
• sinister
• threatening
Anagrams
• suimono
Source: Wiktionary
Om"i*nous, a. Etym: [L. ominosus, fr. omen. See Omen.]
Definition: Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant; portentous; -- formerly used both in a favorable and unfavorable sense; now chiefly in the latter; foreboding or foreshowing evil; inauspicious; as, an ominous dread. He had a good ominous name to have made a peace. Bacon. In the heathen worship of God, a sacrifice without a heart was accounted ominous. South.
– Om"i*nous*ly, adv.
– Om"i*nous*ness, n.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
23 January 2025
LEFT
(adjective) being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the west when facing north; “my left hand”; “left center field”; “the left bank of a river is bank on your left side when you are facing downstream”
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