omen

(Latin: foreboding; anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend or to suggest that something is going to happen which may be a good or an evil event or circumstance in the future)

abominable (adjective), more abominable, most abominable
1. Loathsome, extremely repugnant, reprehensible, shocking, or offensive: Murder is considered to be one of the most abominable crimes committed by anyone.

Nathan had the abominable habit of chewing his fingernails in public.

2. Extremely unpleasant or of very bad quality, or very unpleasant to experience: The abominable food that was served in the restaurant tasted terrible and Jim told the manager that he could be sure that he and his wife would never go there again.

The abominable weather during the summer was the worst that people had experienced in a long time.

3. Referring to a bad omen; nasty and disgusting; vile; loathsome: The flood included abominable sewerage that had flowed into the basements and ground floor rooms of the houses.
4. Pertaining to a statement that describes something that is deplorable, shocking, or awful: That the homeless were forced out of the shelter this winter was an abominable decision.
5. Etymology: derived from Latin abominari, "to detest something as an ill omen".

From the 14th until the 17th century, the word was spelled abhominable because people thought it came from the Latin phrase ab homine, meaning "away from man", and so, "inhuman, beastly".

Very unpleasant.
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abominably (adverb), more abominably, most abominably
Descriptive of something or someone who is very bad or unpleasant: The groom's brother behaved abominably during the wedding reception by drinking too much wine.

Greg's mother was upset with him because he was abominably cruel to their cat.

abominate (verb), abominates; abominated; abominating
1. To dislike, to find repugnant, and to intensely disapprove of someone or something: Georgia abominates the smell of strong perfume in a small room.

Allen has always abominated loud music and could not be tempted to attend a rock concert in the local park.

A politician who is revered by his supporters is also often abominated by his opposition.

2. To detest thoroughly; to abhor: There is nothing that abominates Nellie more than the thought of eating raw meat.

The crowd will be abominating the imposition of an early curfew by the local authorities.

The farmers have been abominating the hot and extremely dry weather.

To regard with disgust or hatred.
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To hate to the highest degree.
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Word History

For the ancient Romans, an omen was a sign from the gods or a promise of good or a warning of evil.

Naturally, they turned away in fear from an evil omen. To express this aversion, they combined ab, "away" + omen, "a foreboding, foretelling", into the verb abominari, meaning "to deprecate as ominous", "to abhor"; with a past participle abominatus, the source of English abominate. The word has largely lost its original connotation of dread and has come to mean "to loathe, to hate, to despise".

—Compiled from information located in the
Picturesque Word Origins; G. & C. Merriam Company;
Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A; 1933; page 5.
abomination (s) (noun), abominations (pl)
1. An action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or extreme hatred: The dirty streets of this city are an abomination!

Stacey's grandfather still has a strong feeling of abomination for the concentration camps that existed in Germany during the Second World War.

2. An emotion of horror, loathing, or shame: Teressa's feeling of abomination for terrorist killings has never changed.
3. Something that is perceived as disgusting, awful, or ill conceived: Some people see the sculpture in the museum exhibition as art, while others see it as an abomination.
Anything that excites disgust, hatred, or loathing.
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That which is hateful and repugnant.
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abominator (s) (noun), abominators (pl)
1. Someone who intensely hates or loathes: The protest march against the building of a new prison was led by a well-known abominator.
2. People who thoroughly detest or abhor other people, things, systems, etc.: An experienced team of abominators meet every month to plan protests and rallies against the laws protecting civic inequality.
ill-omened (adjective), more ill-omened, most ill-omened
1. A bad or an evil sign; inauspicious: The ill-omened economy indicated that many people would be unemployed and having problems paying their expenses.
2. Marked by or promising some kind of bad fortune: The ill-omened snow, ice and freezing weather resulted in Hayden falling and breaking his wrist when he went outside.
omen (s) (noun), omens (pl)
1. Anything perceived or happening that is believed to prophesy or to warn a good or an evil event or circumstance in the future: An increase in exports might be an omen of economic recovery.
2. A prognostic or foreboding of what will happen: When the black cat crossed in front of him, Manfred thought it would be a sign of some evil omen.
3. A prophetic significance; presage: Henry accidentally broke a mirror and he believed that it was an omen or an unfavorable sign that something terrible was about to happen.
omen (verb), omens; omened; omening
To indicate or to warn that something bad could happen: When Bill and Mildred saw the bad weather, it omened a delay at the airport and that could be omening their holiday plans, too.
omened (adjective), more omened, most omened
Referring to a prophetic signal that something will be taking place or happening whether it is good or bad: Lorna woke up from her omened dream, which indicated that she would have a fortunate day.
ominous (adjective), more ominous, most ominous
A reference to something that threatens evil or harm; inauspicious: Shirley saw an ominous group of dark clouds coming in her direction as she was going for a walk in the park.

Mrs. Jackson told her students that the ominous weather meant that they might have to go home earlier than usual.

A threatening situation.
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Indicative of future calamity.
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ominously (adverb), more ominously, most ominously
Characterized by a sinister or menacing indication that something dangerous was about to happen: The sun was shining, then all of a sudden, it was ominously covered with thunder clouds and flashes of lightening.
ominousness (s) (noun) (no plural)
1. Presaging ill-fortune: The ominousness of the sky and the sudden silence prevailed.
2. That which is threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments: There was an ominousness of the weather that made Dina and her friends change their minds about going shopping in town.

There was an ominousness of silence when Bert asked his supervisor whether his contract was going to be extended.

Cross references of word families that are related directly, or indirectly, to: "divination, diviner; seer, soothsayer, prophecy, prophesy, prophet": augur-; auspic-; fa-, fate; Fates in action; futur-; -mancy; -phemia; sorc-, sorcery; vati-.