ill-boding

adjective

ˈil-ˈbō-diŋ How to pronounce ill-boding (audio)
Definition of ill-bodingnext
as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come in an ill-boding turn of events, the government began rounding up political dissidents

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-boding
  1. ominous
  2. sinister
  3. menacing
Adjective
  • The early returns were ominous, and prospects did not improve from there.
    Vox Staff, Vox, 6 Nov. 2024
  • The brief visual featured a snippet of the track — a few ominous piano notes with some percussion.
    Ilana Kaplan, People.com, 28 Oct. 2024
Definition of ominous
Adjective
  • Specifically, Bill becomes increasingly aware of young girls being held and abused by the nuns of his convent, led by a sinister mother superior, Sister Mary (played with dark-eyed, cold-hearted terror by Emily Watson).
    Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Elliot Page translates vitality and promise as the young teen, while a blood-freezing Catherine Keener is the sinister embodiment of resentment and cruelty.
    Declan Gallagher and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024
Definition of sinister
Adjective
  • The same goes for the unveiling of Baldwin’s character who arrives on screen with his own menacing score.
    Zac Ntim, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2024
  • When healthy, the guard is a menacing two-way threat as a point-of-attack defender and confident shooter.
    Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
Definition of menacing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near ill-boding

ill-beings

ill-boding

ill-bred

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Ill-boding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-boding. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
sweet smart pug puppy dog sitting in front of blackboard with chalk question marks
Commonly Confused Words Quiz Vol. 3 Do you have a (flare/flair) for choosing the righ...