premonition

noun

pre·​mo·​ni·​tion ˌprē-mə-ˈni-shən  ˌpre- 

1

: previous notice or warning : forewarning

2

: anticipation of an event without conscious reason : presentiment

Synonyms of premonition

• feel
• presentiment
• fear
• foreboding
• suspicion
• worry
• presage

Examples of premonition in a Sentence

She had a premonition that he would call.

she had a premonition that her cat would somehow get hurt that day

Recent Examples on the Web

Peasants whisper about monsters in the forest, and in the interlude between the wars, Lajos gazes at a house that is burning down and has a premonition of the world-historical destruction to come. —Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2026

Our mascot was Pablo Picasso, and Cattelan had an actor walk around with a giant Picasso mask posing for pictures in the pre-iPhone era, an early premonition of the endless selfies. —Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026

New research shows Hinton’s premonitions about the insubordinate streak of AI may already be a reality. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026

Their map of Earth might carry a strange beauty, like the 1524 map of Tenochtitlan, and perhaps a dark premonition. —Big Think, 1 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English premunition, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin premunition-, premunitio, alteration of Late Latin praemonitio, from Latin praemonēre to warn in advance, from prae- + monēre to warn — more at mind

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for premonition

• abolition
• acquisition
• admonition
• ammunition
• apparition
• apposition
• coalition
• competition
• composition
• definition
• deglutition
• demolition

Kids Definition

premonition

noun

pre·​mo·​ni·​tion ˌprē-mə-ˈnish-ən  ˌprem-ə- 

: a feeling that something is going to happen

a premonition of disaster

premonitory

pri-ˈmän-ə-ˌtōr-ē, 

-ˌtȯr-

adjective