Definition of PORTEND

Did You Know?

Portend has been used in English in the context of signs of things to come since the 15th century. The word derives from the Latin verb portendere, which means "to predict or foretell." That verb, in turn, developed as a combination of the prefix por- (meaning "forward") and the verb "tendere" (meaning "to stretch"). So you can think of "portend" as having a literal meaning of "stretching forward to predict." Additional descendants of "tendere" include "extend," "tendon," and "tension," among others.

Examples of portend in a Sentence

The distant thunder portended a storm. If you're superstitious, a black cat portends trouble.

Recent Examples on the Web

The moves portend hard times ahead for many asset managers, after a year characterized by weakening share prices and softening investor inflows. — WSJ, "Investors Find Few Places to Hide in Rocky Year," 18 Dec. 2018 Securities lawyers say the decision is specific to Exxon’s case and may not portend a change in terms of how the SEC reviews companies’ statements about climate change. — Dave Michaels And Bradley Olson, WSJ, "SEC Drops Probe of Exxon’s Climate-Change Disclosures," 3 Aug. 2018 Bond yields also moved solidly higher as investors anticipated that the solid jobs survey portends more steady growth in the economy. — Marley Jay, BostonGlobe.com, "US stocks soar on strong jobs report; inflation fears ease," 10 Mar. 2018 Handicappers believe this contest could portend which direction the political winds will blow this fall. — Chad Pergram, Fox News, "McConnell threat to nix entire August recess fizzles," 3 Aug. 2018 The demise of Wow doesn't necessarily portend skyrocketing airfare, so don't dash those dreams of a cheap Euro-trip just yet. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "Are the Discount Airlines Doomed?," 29 Mar. 2019 The top end of the market attracts foreign investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and a slowdown doesn’t necessarily portend trouble for Toll Brothers or less-wealthy buyers. — Harriet Torry, WSJ, "Toll Brothers Profit Jumps as Wealthy Americans Spend," 21 Aug. 2018 Sanctions leveled by Washington last month on Venezuela’s oil industry have exacerbated Mr. Maduro’s difficulties, cutting off Venezuela’s only meaningful source of income and portending further declines in oil output. — Kejal Vyas, WSJ, "China Talks With Venezuela Opposition to Protect Investments," 12 Feb. 2019 Trump’s ascension has seemed in many ways to portend a more wholehearted Democratic shift in favor of the Clinton/Obama position. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "Elizabeth Warren wants to outflank Trump on trade," 29 Nov. 2018

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