dire vs ominous

dire

adj
  • Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal. 

  • Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous. 

  • Bad in quality, awful, terrible. 

  • Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing. 

ominous

adj
  • Specifically, giving indication of a coming ill; being an evil omen 

  • Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant. 

How often have the words dire and ominous occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )