as in portents
something believed to be a sign or warning of a future event
some people still believe that a black cat crossing your path is a bad omen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of omens
For over two centuries, eerie sightings of the Dash have tied it to omens of death and supernatural lore.
—
Leanna Renee Hieber, Big Think, 2 Oct. 2025
The bad omens came early at this year’s Burning Man — the infamously wild, weeklong celebration of art, music, and unrestrained self-expression held at the end of every summer in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert — portending a particularly extra-ordinary burn.
—Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
In the final novel of the series, The Last Battle, the destruction of trees and dryads in Lantern Waste, a place tied to the creation of Narnia itself, is one of many portentous omens signalling the end of the world.
—Ellen Walker, JSTOR Daily, 3 Sep. 2025
Leanna Renee Hieber, Big Think, 2 Oct. 2025
The bad omens came early at this year’s Burning Man — the infamously wild, weeklong celebration of art, music, and unrestrained self-expression held at the end of every summer in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert — portending a particularly extra-ordinary burn.
—Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
In the final novel of the series, The Last Battle, the destruction of trees and dryads in Lantern Waste, a place tied to the creation of Narnia itself, is one of many portentous omens signalling the end of the world.
—Ellen Walker, JSTOR Daily, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for omens
Noun
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As portents go, after a testing summer for Newcastle, this did not look altogether positive.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
New York Times,
20 Aug. 2025
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Other auspicious portents are appearing, Worden says, that signal initial Mars colonies could begin spreading out, beneath crystalline hemispheric domes, across the 2030s.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Generic predictions include the same initial temperature everywhere, with a spectrum of seed fluctuations imprinted atop it that are Gaussian in nature and almost, but not quite, identical across cosmic scales.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
22 Oct. 2025
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In gerneral, meteorologists tend to eschew making predictions more than a few days out.—
Frank Witsil,
Freep.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Ray Palmer is a lot of Brandon, some hints of Clark for sure.—
Charles Infosino,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
23 Oct. 2025
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The scene illuminates the story’s preoccupation not with the post-#MeToo world but with performance, hints of which can be found throughout the film.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Atienza took the post down and withdrew from social media for a time but hit back in subsequent posts at suggestions that her family’s wealth derived from its political connections on her father’s side.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
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Any of Morocco’s front three could have featured here; all credible suggestions for player of the tournament.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Omens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/omens. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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