as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
foreboding clouds began to gather
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in feel
a feeling that something bad will happen
I have this strange foreboding that your ski vacation will not turn out well, so be extra careful
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in portent
something believed to be a sign or warning of a future event
used to think that if he saw a blackbird fly over his left shoulder it was a foreboding of harm
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in dread
suspicion or fear of future harm or misfortune
a pessimist who is always overcome by a sense of foreboding before flying on an airplane
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also forboding
as in promising
to show signs of a favorable or successful outcome
the dry summer doesn't forebode well for the harvest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of foreboding
Sonal Nain, Newsweek, 19 Jan. 2025
Irving’s outie is also tortured by visions of a long, foreboding black hallway with an elevator, the red arrow ominously pointing down, farther into the building.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 15 Jan. 2025
Benjamin Moser, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2024
But most foreboding is Falcone’s daughter and Alberto’s sister Sofia, released from Arkham Asylum after years inside and with major grievances against Oz, who used to be her driver.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for foreboding 
Adjective
What began as an ordinary day suddenly turned with a phone call from an unknown number, triggering a foreboding sense of something deeply wrong.
—Sonal Nain, Newsweek, 19 Jan. 2025
Irving’s outie is also tortured by visions of a long, foreboding black hallway with an elevator, the red arrow ominously pointing down, farther into the building.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 15 Jan. 2025
Noun
In his images of the World Trade Center, the passage of time has once again added to his foreboding.
—Benjamin Moser, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2024
But most foreboding is Falcone’s daughter and Alberto’s sister Sofia, released from Arkham Asylum after years inside and with major grievances against Oz, who used to be her driver.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for foreboding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foreboding
Adjective
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Listen to this article A student in North Haven was arrested Monday after allegedly sending a photo of a firearm to a group chat with other students which was accompanied by an ominous message advising them not to go to school.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 Jan. 2025
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Zhu, working with cinematographer Daisy Zhou, stages these scenes with hints of horror; the intimate vantage points are particularly ominous against Eli Keszler’s haunting score.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Along with Taylor’s rich voice, the record shone through its fluorescent electro flourishes and euphoric pop feel.—
Sophie Williams,
Billboard,
28 Jan. 2025
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Plus, setting it up is super simple, the bass is strong enough to shake your room, and the Dolby Atmos feature adds this amazing 3D feel to the audio that pulls you into the action.—
Shubham Yewale,
PCMAG,
28 Jan. 2025
Noun
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As the two settle into their new house, Michael Shanks, the film’s Australian writer-director, pulls an anything-goes series of shocking portents.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
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In Crimson Peak, however, these terrifying tragic figures are also a warning, an ominous portent of her doom, a frantic attempt to save her from it.—
Gayle Sequeira,
Vulture,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Over the course of January 2025, Williams watched in dread as social media videos and news coverage emerged showing Southern California residents whose homes had been destroyed sifting through the rubble unmasked.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2025
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Although Ariel is followed around at all times and experiences several creepy encounters with Alfred, any traces of creeping dread are snuffed out by the monotony of the film’s drab visuals.—
Chase Hutchinson,
IndieWire,
28 Jan. 2025
Verb
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As one manifestation of Carter’s commitment, his administration began to oppose loans from international financial institutions to rights-abusing governments, promising to provide financial support only after these countries demonstrated concrete improvements on human rights.—
Michael Posner,
Forbes,
6 Jan. 2025
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Was Knies’ promising rookie season not necessarily a sign of things to come?—
Joshua Kloke,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Director Josh Ruben, along with screenwriters Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy, craftily concocts a sweetly sinister genre mashup, blending romantic comedy tropes with slasher movie fodder.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2025
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The typically magnetic Ramírez looms large, delivering a masterful turn as a well-heeled but enigmatically sinister figure who may or may not have his client’s best interest at heart.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Growing up in tension, fearing a parent’s volatility, can leave a young person with painful but shrewd premonitions about possible danger and with acute impulses to protection.—
Mikal Gilmore,
Rolling Stone,
17 Jan. 2025
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That premonition rings true when his parents (Tara Buckman, Geoff Hansen) are slaughtered by a carjacker dressed as Old Saint Nick himself (Charles Dierkop) just hours later, condemning the toddler into further moral compass trauma at an orphanage run by a domineering Mother Superior nun from Hell.—
Huntley Woods,
EW.com,
19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Three years before the convention, the Nixon administration had presented a draft treaty that proposed a forerunner to the International Seabed Authority: an agency established by the Law of the Sea that would collect royalties from underwater resources and distribute them to the developing world.—
Jack Truesdale,
The Atlantic,
25 Jan. 2025
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According to Hall, Minute Man was a forerunner in a number of fast-food concepts.—
Mike Keckhaver),
arkansasonline.com,
11 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near foreboding
Cite this Entry
“Foreboding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreboding. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
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