OMINOUS

[om.i.nous] adj (1587): being or exhibiting an omen: portentous; esp: foreboding or foreshowing evil: inauspicious -- om.i.nous.ly adv -- om.i.nous.ness n syn ominous, portentous, fateful mean having a menacing or threatening aspect. ominous implies having a menacing, alarming character foreshadowing evil or disaster "ominous rumblings from a once-dormant volcano". portentous suggests being frighteningly big or impressive but now seldom definitely connotes forwarning of calamity "an eerie and portentous stillness". fateful suggests being of momentous or decisive importance "the fateful conference that led to war".