ominously

comparative more ominously · superlative most ominously

1. In an ominous manner; with sinister foreboding.

   From first to last he was ominously polite, and ominously silent.

   1868 January 4 – June 6, [William] Wilkie Collins, “Second Period. The Discovery of the Truth. (1848–1849.) […] [Fourth Narrative. Extracted from the Journal of Ezra Jennings.]”, in The Moonstone. A Romance. […], volume III, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], published 1868, →OCLC, page 195

   3 more examples

   His nostrils flared ominously and his fists opened and closed at his sides.

   1983, Patricia Hagan, Golden Roses

   However, the next day dawned ominously with an overcast sky and we postponed our start till 8 o'clock.

   1999, Harish Kapadia, “Accident and Rescue in the Nanda Devi Sanctuary”, in Across Peaks & Passes in Kumaun Himalaya, New Delhi: Indus Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 70

   Just as the Census Bureau forecasts growing racial diversity under any future level of immigration, it likewise projects ominously slow growth in America’s working-age population without more immigration.

   2021 April 23, Ronald Brownstein, “The racist ‘replacement theory’ has it all backward”, in CNN