ominously
/ˈɑmənəsli/adverb
ominously is spelled O-M-I-N-O-U-S-L-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,738th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, ominously means “In an ominous manner; with sinister foreboding” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ominously?
| Letters | 9: O-M-I-N-O-U-S-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 51,738th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ominously?
Ominously appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,738th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ominously?
- UK /ˈɒmɪnəsli/
- US /ˈɑmənəsli/
Ominously has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ominously.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ominously
- more ominously comparative
- most ominously superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ominously mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In an ominous manner; with sinister foreboding.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does ominously come from?
From ominous + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).