augur

noun

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au·gur | \ ˈȯ-gər

Definition of augur

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an official diviner of ancient Rome

2 : one held to foretell events by omens

augur

verb

augured; auguring; augurs

Definition of augur (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to foretell especially from omens

2 : to give promise of : presage This bad news augurs disaster for all of us.

intransitive verb

: to predict the future especially from omens

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Did You Know?

Verb

Auguring is what augurs did in ancient Rome. These were official diviners whose function it was, not to foretell the future, but to divine whether the gods approved of a proposed undertaking, such as a military move. They did so by various means, among them observing the behavior of birds and examining the entrails of sacrificed animals. Nowadays, the foretell sense of the verb is often used with an adverb, such as well, as in our example sentence. Augur comes from Latin and is related to the Latin verb augēre, meaning "to increase."

Examples of augur in a Sentence

Noun ancient Roman augurs who predicted the future by reading the flight of birds Verb The decision doesn't augur well. the extended interview augurs well for your acceptance into that law school

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb If the primary causes are pandemic-related, that may augur a reprieve in the coming summer months as vaccination drives fully reopen the economy. — The Economist, "In 2020 America experienced a terrible surge in murder. Why?," 27 Mar. 2021 That could augur a slight slowdown in demand going forward. — Nicole Friedman, WSJ, "The Pandemic Ignited a Housing Boom—But It’s Different From the Last One," 15 Mar. 2021 The promotion of Lord Frost, the hardline negotiator of the TCA, to replace Michael Gove as minister in charge of EU relations, does not augur compromise. — The Economist, "Counting the cost of Brexit’s impact on trade," 24 Feb. 2021 The latest data do not augur well for the employment picture in December. — Nelson D. Schwartz, BostonGlobe.com, "Unemployment claims dipped but remained high during Christmas week," 31 Dec. 2020 The failure of the Northern Expedition seemed to augur an imminent fall, but the Heavenly Kingdom would prove remarkably resilient by scoring impressive military victories. — George Brice/alamy/aci, History Magazine, "This religious revolt nearly toppled China's last imperial dynasty," 10 Dec. 2020 The experiences of Canada and Australia augur ill for the U.K. — Rosalind Mathieson, Bloomberg.com, "The End of a Wonderful Friendship and the Beginning of Trade Woes," 2 Dec. 2020 Brett Callow, a threat analyst at Emsisoft cybersecurity firm, said the attack could augur other similar actions exploiting the proximity of Election Day. — Frank Bajak, Star Tribune, "Report: Ransomware disables Georgia county election database," 23 Oct. 2020 This moment seemed to augur the final triumph of politics over comedy. — Dan Brooks, New York Times, "How President Trump Ruined Political Comedy," 7 Oct. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'augur.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.