Inauspicious is an adjective describing something that is not conducive to success or is showing signs of bad outcomes. It implies ill omens or unfavorable prospects and is often used to describe events, beginnings, or circumstances that seem likely to fail. The term carries formal or literary nuance and signals a negative forecast rather than a mere slight misfortune.
"The forecast for the new venture looked inauspicious, with low early sales and unstable funding."
"Their meeting produced inauspicious results, casting doubt on the project’s viability."
"The first weeks of deployment were inauspicious, but improvements followed."
"She chose to proceed cautiously after several inauspicious signs emerged during the trial period."
Inauspicious derives from the Latin prefix in- (not) + auspex (omen observer, one who interprets birds or omens) and -ous, forming a meaning of “not auspicious.” The root auspex comes from auspex (related to auspices), from Latin auspicium, itself from auspex and avis (bird) + specere (to look). In English, auspicious originally meant favorable or fortunate, with inauspicious forming as a negative counterpart. The earliest attestations of auspicious occur in late Latin and Old French, with inauspicious appearing in English in the 18th or 19th century as literary and formal vocabulary. The term gained traction during eras of heightened interest in omen-interpretation and astrology. Over time, inauspicious settled into common scholarly and polished prose use, typically describing events, beginnings, or circumstances that foretell poor outcomes rather than mere bad luck.
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Words that rhyme with "Inauspicious"
-ous sounds
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Pronounce as i-nau-SPI-cious, with primary stress on the third syllable. IPA: US ɪˌnɔːˈspɪʃəs, UK ɪˌnɔːˈspɪʃəs, AU ɪˌnɔːˈspɪʃəs. Begin with a short short i, then nau as in 'gnaw' but with a muted vowel, then SPIC as in 'spice' and -ious as in 'shus' but quick and lighter. A tip: keep a syllable-timed rhythm and avoid rushing the -spious ending.
Common errors include misplacing stress (putting it on the second syllable: i-NAU-spicious), pronouncing the second syllable as a strong ‘pause’ or breaking it oddly, and slurring the 'sp' into 'sp' and 'i' too quickly. Correction: maintain primary stress on SPĪ in -spicious, keep the 'au' as a long /ɔː/ or /ɔː/ sound, and ensure the final -ious ends with a soft /-əs/ rather than a heavy /-ɪəs/ cluster.
US/UK/AU share the same primary stress on the third syllable, but vowel quality differs: US tends to /ɪˌnɔːˈspɪʃəs/ with a clearer /ɔː/ in the ‘au’, UK often preserves a slightly tighter /ɔː/ and non-rhoticity in careful speech, and AU tends toward a more centralized /ɔː/ with a lightly reduced final syllable. The main difference is the mouth position and rounding of the /ɔː/ vowel and the length of the /ɪ/ in the second syllable.
Difficulties include the three-syllable rhythm with a strong third-stress, plus the long /ɔː/ in 'nau' and the cluster /spɪ/ before the /ʃ/. The final '-cious' reduces to /-ʃəs/, which many speakers mispronounce as /-siəs/ or /-ʃəs/ with the wrong vowel. Focus on keeping the 'sp' consonant clearly coupled with the following /ɪ/ and finishing with a light /əs/.
Inauspicious has no silent letters. The challenge lies in the three-syllable rhythm and the /ɔː/ in 'nau' plus the /spɪ/ cluster before /ʃəs/. The main stress falls on the third syllable: i-nau-SPI-cious. Ensure you don’t reduce the /ɔː/ to /ɒ/ in non-rhotic contexts and avoid turning the -cious into a full syllable instead of a quick, light ending.
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