Omen
['əʊmən] or ['omən]
Definition
(noun.) a sign of something about to happen; 'he looked for an omen before going into battle'.
Inputed by Delia--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) An occurrence supposed to portend, or show the character of, some future event; any indication or action regarded as a foreshowing; a foreboding; a presage; an augury.
(v. t.) To divine or to foreshow by signs or portents; to have omens or premonitions regarding; to predict; to augur; as, to omen ill of an enterprise.
Editor: Sidney
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Prognostic, presage, augury, foreboding, portent, auspice, sign.
Typed by Duane
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Augury, sign, presage, portent, forboding, prognostic,[See PRESAGE]
Edited by Anselm
Definition
n. a sign of some future event either good or evil: a foreboding.—v.i. and v.t. to prognosticate: to predict.—adj. O′mened containing omens mostly with prefixes as ill-omened.
Editor: Pedro
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. A sign that something will happen if nothing happens.
Checked by Leda
Examples
- This was an evil omen. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- And very much indebted for the omen. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Death on the cards, love in the stars, and the muttered prophecies of crouching hags, terrified at the omen of flying bat, of shrieking night-bird. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- There was something almost bridal in his own aspect: his large white gardenia had a symbolic air that struck Lily as a good omen. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- You took me by surprise,' said Mr Rokesmith, 'and it sounded like an omen, that you should speak of showing the Dead to one so young and blooming. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Was he a messenger, an omen of the universal dissolution into whiteness and snow? D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Justinian, however, abandoned such cognomen as of evil omen, and called it The Western Pass, by which title it was generally called by the Melnosians. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Not a bad idea; the head will serve for my new coinage, and be an omen to all dutiful subjects of my future success. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Thou art a thing of bad omen. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- This is a good omen for you. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I accept the omen. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Hope beckons and sorrow urges us, the heart beats high with expectation, and this eager desire of change must be an omen of success. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- It will be a good omen for me. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Mr. Vholes, said my guardian, eyeing his black figure as if he were a bird of ill omen, has brought an ugly report of our most unfortunate Rick. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- All such things are of evil omen. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- A stealthy glance now and then refreshed her like sips of fresh water after a dusty walk, for the sidelong peeps showed her several propitious omens. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Comets, meteors, an d eclipses were considered as omens portending pestilence, national disaster, or the fate of kings. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- I dangers dared; I hindrance scorned; I omens did defy: Whatever menaced, harassed, warned, I passed impetuous by. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- I met several funerals; they were slenderly attended by mourners, and were regarded by the spectators as omens of direst import. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Ghouls, vampires, omens, dreams, and all those grewsome things, he used to revel in. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Sunshine and laughter were good omens for a pleasure party, and soon a lively bustle began in both houses. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- And so the journey began with the good omens of sunshine, smiles, and cheerful words. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
Checker: Phyllis