Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not favorable; not auspicious.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not auspicious; ill-omened; unlucky; unfavorable: as, an inauspicious time.
  • Synonyms Unpropitious, unpromising, untoward.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Not auspicious; ill-omened; unfortunate; unlucky; unfavorable.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Not auspicious; ill-omened; unfortunate; unlucky; unfavorable.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective not auspicious; boding ill
  • adjective presaging ill fortune
  • adjective contrary to your interests or welfare

Etymologies

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Examples

  • When the exact character and effects of their policy defy simple articulation, something inauspicious is afoot.

    AKMA’s Random Thoughts 2005

  • He finished an 'inauspicious' shotgun anthology of Russian poetry, from Fet to Esenin to Ryzhii, in formal and experimental translations and is currently at work on a selected poems of Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva, to come out in '09 from Whale and Star Press.

    THE BRITTLE AGE AND RETURNING UPLAND by RENE CHAR EILEEN 2009

  • Many render [Greek: duocheres] 'inauspicious', 'ill - omened'; but as we do not know exactly what was in Demosthenes 'mind, it is better not to give the word a meaning which it does not bear elsewhere.

    The Public Orations of Demosthenes, volume 2 384 BC-322 BC Demosthenes 1912

  • Matshiqi says it is important to remember the "inauspicious" manner in which Zuma ascended to power as it sheds light on the delicate balance of power in the ruling party.

    AllAfrica News: Latest 2010

  • He wanted to make sure that he doesn't eat during the 'inauspicious' period.

    The Times of India Amit Bhattacharya 2010

  • For the next couple of minutes, he seemed to have forgotten that the eclipse was 'inauspicious' and the very reason why he was taking the purifying dip.

    The Times of India Amit Bhattacharya 2010

  • Shakespeare coined the word "inauspicious," riffing on the Latin auspicium, the art of telling the future by observing the flights of birds: "And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars."

    The Nation: Top Stories 2009

  • Shakespeare coined the word "inauspicious," riffing on the Latin auspicium, the art of telling the future by observing the flights of birds: "And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars."

    The Nation: Top Stories 2009

  • Unknown Aussie buys Bradman's "inauspicious" debut bat for 145,000 dollars

    dailyindia.com News Feed 2008

  • Most nation-building missions fail, and conditions in Afghanistan make it a particularly inauspicious place to try to buck past trends.

    Rahim Kanani: An In-Depth Interview With Christopher Preble, Director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Cato Institute Rahim Kanani 2011

Comments

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  • chalk cliffs blanched

    In sullen light of the inauspicious day

    from "Channel Crossing," Sylvia Plath

    April 14, 2008