ominous
/ˈɒmɪnəs/
"ominous" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ominous” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,194 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #17,194
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ominous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɒmɪnəs/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #17,194 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ominous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ominous is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɒmɪnəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,194 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for ominous, with forms such as "moinous", "oimnous", and "ominnous". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "odious", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin ōminōsus (“full of foreboding”), from ōmen (“forbidden fruit, omen”), from Old Latin osmen, of uncertain origin, with many origins proposed (see ōmen). The correct English form is ominous, spelled O-M-I-N-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant.
- 2Specifically, giving indication of a coming ill; being an evil omen
Etymology
From Latin ōminōsus (“full of foreboding”), from ōmen (“forbidden fruit, omen”), from Old Latin osmen, of uncertain origin, with many origins proposed (see ōmen).
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: moinous,oimnous,ominnous,ominosu,ominouss,ominuos,omionus,omminous,omnious
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ominous - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ominous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-M-I-N-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɒmɪnəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “odious” - see the side-by-side comparison. ominous vs odious
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.