inauspicious

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌɪnɔˈspɪʃəs/ UK /ˌɪnɔːˈspɪʃəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
not promising success; suggesting that the future is unlucky

The team made an inauspicious start, losing their first three matches.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not promising success;... unfavorable unpromising ominous unlucky unpropitiousill-omened

Opposites

auspicious favorable promising propitious

Word family

Derived forms inauspiciouslyinauspiciousness

Related forms auspicious auspiceauspex

Etymology

From in- ('not') + auspicious, from Latin auspicium ('divination by observing birds'), from auspex ('bird-watcher, augur'), from avis ('bird') + specere ('to look at').

auspicium Latin avis Old French specere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# inauspicious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌɪnɔˈspɪʃəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɪnɔːˈspɪʃəs/

## Meanings
1. not promising success; suggesting that the future is unlucky

## Examples
- The team made an inauspicious start, losing their first three matches.

## Synonyms
- unfavorable
- unpromising
- ominous
- unlucky
- unpropitious
- ill-omened

## Antonyms
- auspicious
- favorable
- promising
- propitious

## Derived Forms
- inauspiciously
- inauspiciousness

## Related Forms
- auspicious
- auspice
- auspex

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: auspicium
- Root: avis
- Root: specere - to look at

## Etymology
From in- ('not') + auspicious, from Latin auspicium ('divination by observing birds'), from auspex ('bird-watcher, augur'), from avis ('bird') + specere ('to look at').

## AI Etymology
Inauspicious comes from in- ('not') + auspicious, from Latin auspicium ('divination by observing birds'), from auspex ('bird-watcher, augur'), from avis ('bird') + specere ('to look at'). The prefix supplies the first semantic turn, while the base carries the lexical core of the word. As an adjective, it carries the sense "not promising success; suggesting that the future is unlucky", with the older formation still helping explain the modern use. Relevant historical forms include Latin auspicium, Latin avis, and Latin specere. Derivative forms include inauspiciously, inauspiciousness; related words include auspicious, auspice, auspex.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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