as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
foreboding clouds began to gather
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in feel
a feeling that something bad will happen
I have this strange foreboding that your ski vacation will not turn out well, so be extra careful
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in portent
something believed to be a sign or warning of a future event
used to think that if he saw a blackbird fly over his left shoulder it was a foreboding of harm
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in dread
suspicion or fear of future harm or misfortune
a pessimist who is always overcome by a sense of foreboding before flying on an airplane
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also forboding
as in promising
to show signs of a favorable or successful outcome
the dry summer doesn't forebode well for the harvest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of foreboding
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025
Last night, scientists began to hear cryptic and foreboding warnings from colleagues: Go to the CDC website, and download your data now.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2025
Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2025
Mid- to late-cycle expansions don’t need to draw fuel from a deep reservoir of fear and foreboding, the way early-cycle recoveries do.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 14 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for foreboding
Adjective
As well as that, there's a foreboding shot of Galactus casting his considerable shadow over New York City.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025
Last night, scientists began to hear cryptic and foreboding warnings from colleagues: Go to the CDC website, and download your data now.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2025
Noun
But they are also weighted with foreboding, especially as Carter asks her to perform stranger acts.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2025
Mid- to late-cycle expansions don’t need to draw fuel from a deep reservoir of fear and foreboding, the way early-cycle recoveries do.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 14 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for foreboding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foreboding
Adjective
-
The fall in the dollar and rise in bond yields that went with it have been truly ominous.—
Robert Daugherty,
Forbes.com,
12 Apr. 2025
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As for what will befall patients at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, Gemmill gave CNN a pretty ominous hint.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Plants a few miles away and has filled the apartment with enormous trees in ceramic pots, giving the rooms a bohemian feel.—
Lisa Boone,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2025
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Designed to give a modern feel to your entertainment setup, this TV stand is made from solid pine and comes in two different wood finishes.—
Christopher Murray,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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But the attacks could have been interpreted very differently: as a horrific case of blowback and a portent of resistance to U.S. hegemony.—
Stephen Wertheim,
Foreign Affairs,
17 Mar. 2023
-
Weinstein’s thuggish joke was just one portent of the edgy, borderline sinister air that permeated the party from the very beginning.—
Scott Huver,
The Hollywood Reporter,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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When the slasher eventually appears, stealing the group’s car before murdering them with a humorous bluntness, there is also a real atmosphere of dread.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Apr. 2025
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But his ailment looked to be grave enough to warrant dread.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
As one manifestation of Carter’s commitment, his administration began to oppose loans from international financial institutions to rights-abusing governments, promising to provide financial support only after these countries demonstrated concrete improvements on human rights.—
Michael Posner,
Forbes,
6 Jan. 2025
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Was Knies’ promising rookie season not necessarily a sign of things to come?—
Joshua Kloke,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Thorne starred in the film as a young woman who discovers her father has been killed after returning to her small hometown, while Rourke, 72, starred as a sinister sheriff.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
11 Apr. 2025
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As digitally dropped threats from an unknown predator grow increasingly sinister during the protagonist’s big date at a Chicago restaurant, the messages blast across the big screen in huge letters, or plaster an entire wall of the ladies’ restroom.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Indeed, VistaVision was the forerunner of IMAX 65mm, with its horizontal orientation.—
Bill Desowitz,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2025
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The company plans to recreate the mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, by editing the genome of each species’ closest living relative to make a hybrid animal that would be visually indistinguishable from its extinct forerunner.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
While immediate inflation concerns have eased, the current administration’s assertive tariff policies are reigniting these anxieties, potentially leading to future economic instability.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Hiking in nature has also been shown to reduce anxiety and depression.—
Ashley J. DiMella Fox News,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foreboding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreboding. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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