Standard Lemma guide

inauspicious

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌɪnɔːˈspɪʃəs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N AW2 S P IH1 SH IH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not auspicious; ill-omened.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1788, John Jay, as Publius, The Federalist, II It is not to be wondered at that a government instituted in times so inauspicious, should on experiment be found greatly deficient and inadequate to the purpose it was intended to answer.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: foreboding, portentous, augurous, baleful, bodeful, boding, dire, disastrous, divine, fatal, ill-boding, ill-fated, ill-omened, ill-starred, inauspicate, inauspicious, nefastous, omenic, ominous, brooding, presageful, presagious, prodigious, sinister, star-crossed, sullen

Antonyms: auspicial, auspicious, unauspicious, augurous, baleful, bodeful, boding, dire, disastrous, divine, fatal, foreboding, ill-boding, ill-fated, ill-omened, ill-starred, inauspicate, inauspicious, nefastous, omenic, ominous, brooding, portentous, presageful, presagious, prodigious, sinister, star-crossed, sullen

2

adjective

Meaning 2

not auspicious; boding ill

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unfortunate

Antonyms: auspicious

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

presaging ill fortune- P.B.Shelley

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • ill omens
  • ill predictions
  • my words with inauspicious thunderings shook heaven
  • a dead and ominous silence prevailed
  • a by-election at a time highly unpropitious for the Government

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ill, ominous

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

contrary to your interests or welfare

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • adverse circumstances
  • made a place for themselves under the most untoward conditions

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: adverse, untoward

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- English auspicious English inauspicious From in- + auspicious.

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: злокобен (zlokoben) — boding ill
  • Bulgarian: неблагоприятен (neblagoprijaten) — boding ill
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不祥 (bùxiáng) — boding ill
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不吉 (bùjí) — boding ill
  • Czech: neblahý — boding ill
  • Czech: zlověstný — boding ill
  • Czech: nepříznivý — boding ill
  • French: inauspicieux — boding ill
  • Georgian: არახელსაყრელი (araxelsaq̇reli) — boding ill
  • German: ungünstig — boding ill
  • Greek: δυσοίωνος (dysoíonos) — boding ill
  • Japanese: 不祥 (fushō) — boding ill
  • Japanese: 不吉 (fukitsu) — boding ill
  • Latin: clīvius — boding ill
  • Macedonian: неблагопри́јатен (neblagopríjaten) — boding ill
  • Macedonian: зло́кобен (zlókoben) — boding ill
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ugunstig — boding ill
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ugunstig — boding ill
  • Persian: شوم (šum) — boding ill
  • Russian: неблагоприя́тный (neblagoprijátnyj) — boding ill
  • Russian: злове́щий (zlovéščij) — boding ill
  • Sanskrit: अशुभ (aśubha) — boding ill
  • Swedish: olycksbådande — boding ill
  • Swedish: olycksbringande — boding ill
  • Turkish: menhus — boding ill
  • Turkish: uğursuz — boding ill
  • Ottoman Turkish: وارون (varun) — boding ill
  • Ottoman Turkish: اوغورسز (uğursuz) — boding ill
  • Ottoman Turkish: بختسز (bahtsız) — boding ill
  • Ottoman Turkish: قوتسز (kutsuz) — boding ill