foreboding

1 of 2

noun

fore·​bod·​ing (ˌ)fȯr-ˈbō-diŋ How to pronounce foreboding (audio)
: the act of one who forebodes
also : an omen, prediction, or presentiment especially of coming evil : portent
It seems that her forebodings were justified.

foreboding

2 of 2

adjective

: indicative of or marked by foreboding
forebodingly adverb
forebodingness noun

Examples of foreboding in a Sentence

Noun She was filled with a sense of foreboding. It seems that her forebodings were justified. Adjective foreboding clouds began to gather
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
For many, just hearing them produces a sense of foreboding—which storm will be the next to join the long line of hurricanes that have altered countless lives and helped shape the course of U.S. history? Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Oct. 2023 Politicians, strategists and voters from both parties described an inescapable sense of foreboding, a feeling that something might go dangerously awry. Lisa Lerer, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2024 The foreboding will be paid off in full as the story gets weirder — even if viewers have long since sussed out what’s really happening under the alternately perverse and placid surface. Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023 Ly knows how to stage scenes of visceral power, deftly moving between full-hearted flashes of community and taut, antagonistic ones laced with a dreadful foreboding. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2023 Her sister’s diagnosis confirmed a deep foreboding. Eleni Schirmer, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2023 As the episodes press forward, an aura of foreboding is infused throughout the scenes. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 11 Oct. 2023 But the unease and the sense of foreboding were never far off. Mary Costello, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2023 One player who faced Mr. Butkus in the 1960s, Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers, once recalled the sense of foreboding as Mr. Butkus closed in. Des Bieler, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2023
Adjective
That’s certainly true of this 1932 creep-fest, about a group of travelers stranded overnight at a foreboding Welsh manor that has more than one secret stashed away in its many upper rooms. Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024 All of it rendered rich exteriors that felt foreboding and heavy even in daylight. Daron James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024 Sergei Prokofiev’s score encourages the twisted turns and foreboding touches of Bourne’s imagination. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2024 His opinion pieces over many years have been truthful, accurate and foreboding. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2024 Through her viewfinder, the sisters appear less like two separate children than like split aspects of the same soul, simultaneously innocent and foreboding. Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024 From the outside, her house looks like a foreboding, industrial-style warehouse, locked down, gated, and brick-walled. Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2024 When the Von Erich brothers reach the height of their powers, throwaway shots of pills and syringes lend a foreboding poignancy to the proceedings. Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023 In the foreboding clip, a seismometer measures big disturbances in the ground. Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 3 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foreboding.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1630, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of foreboding was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near foreboding

Cite this Entry

“Foreboding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foreboding. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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