Examples of premonitory in a Sentence
a moderate tremor that some seismologists have interpreted as a premonitory sign of the catastrophic quake that is inevitable
Recent Examples on the Web
Engaging in physical activity may temporarily suppress tics and lessen the premonitory urge.
—
Mill Etienne, Forbes.com, 28 Feb. 2026
Many people feel an unpleasant building sensation before a tic, called a premonitory urge, describing it like an itch that needs to be scratched.
—Rena Zito, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026
There is a premonitory moment, too, in this book that wrings so much drama from so many backdoor meetings.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
As is the way with these premonitory lists, not all games are guaranteed 2025 releases.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
Fashion observers had also noticed that Swift had introduced a premonitory blue bodysuit into her wardrobe at the Tuesday show.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 9 Aug. 2023
In 2020, four years since their first date, Ms. Carswell started having premonitory dreams of Ms. Wynn walking back into her life once again.
—Tiana Randall, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2023
My premonitory sense of what her novels were about—Mrs. Dalloway is about some lady, The Waves is about … waves, To the Lighthouse is about going to a lighthouse—turned out to be basically accurate.
—Patricia Lockwood, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2023
Every flourish — a closeup of horses’ hooves pounding the mud, an action scene rendered in partial slow-motion, a sudden gasp as Peter’s wife, Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa), awakens from a premonitory nightmare — suggests a filmmaker constrained by the visual grammar of the Hollywood action flick.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022
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Mill Etienne, Forbes.com, 28 Feb. 2026
Many people feel an unpleasant building sensation before a tic, called a premonitory urge, describing it like an itch that needs to be scratched.
—Rena Zito, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026
There is a premonitory moment, too, in this book that wrings so much drama from so many backdoor meetings.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
As is the way with these premonitory lists, not all games are guaranteed 2025 releases.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
Fashion observers had also noticed that Swift had introduced a premonitory blue bodysuit into her wardrobe at the Tuesday show.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 9 Aug. 2023
In 2020, four years since their first date, Ms. Carswell started having premonitory dreams of Ms. Wynn walking back into her life once again.
—Tiana Randall, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2023
My premonitory sense of what her novels were about—Mrs. Dalloway is about some lady, The Waves is about … waves, To the Lighthouse is about going to a lighthouse—turned out to be basically accurate.
—Patricia Lockwood, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2023
Every flourish — a closeup of horses’ hooves pounding the mud, an action scene rendered in partial slow-motion, a sudden gasp as Peter’s wife, Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa), awakens from a premonitory nightmare — suggests a filmmaker constrained by the visual grammar of the Hollywood action flick.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Premonitory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/premonitory. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
premonitory
adjective
pre·mon·i·to·ry
pri-ˈmän-ə-ˌtōr-ē, -ˌtȯr- 
: giving warning
a premonitory symptom
premonitory aura in epilepsy
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