PORTEND Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

portend

verb

Definition of portend

as in to predict

formal + literary to be a sign or warning that something usually bad or unpleasant is going to happen The distant thunder portended a storm. If you're superstitious, a black cat portends trouble.

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of portend That sequence aside, Pulisic's presence energized the American attack and portended well for its next match, according to his teammates. — ABC News, 26 June 2026 The results in New York City are bad news for incumbents like Lynch and could portend an upset here. — Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 25 June 2026 Multiple companies have slashed tech worker positions in the Bay Area, cutbacks that portend fresh waves of layoffs for the region’s technology sector, according to official filings with the state’s labor agency. — George Avalos, Mercury News, 25 June 2026 The pairing was not something that would portend future commitment. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 24 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for portend

Recent Examples of Synonyms for portend

Verb

The system predicts robot actions by pairing the video model with an action decoder that converts visual predictions into executable robot movements.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 24 July 2026
Economists predicted up to $84 trillion in assets could change hands over 20 years as boomers die and pass on their wealth.

— Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 24 July 2026

Definition of predict

Verb

By 2009, with lavish pension benefits promised but unpaid, CalPERS had $115 billion in debt.

— Zachary Christensen, Oc Register, 24 July 2026
Local officials have expressed concern that the Games will not bring the economic impact organizers have promised — somewhere in the $13-18 billion range.

— Barry Svrluga, New York Times, 24 July 2026

Definition of promise

Verb

The backlash to the Barbara decision presages another legal and cultural battle over the meaning of the 14th Amendment and its role in the debate over who is recognized as an American citizen, observers say.

— Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor, 22 July 2026
Yet the book is also about the disappearance of time and places, with summer’s end presaging more permanent losses.

— Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 22 June 2026

Definition of presage

Verb

Johnny then becomes bonded to a supernatural demon called the Spirit of Vengeance and is able to transform into a flaming, skeletal biker.

— Jordan Moreau, Variety, 26 July 2026
Josh Smead runs an architecture business called Liberty Design Development with his wife and hails from Liberty.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026

Definition of call

Verb

Annabeth has grown to care for Percy, but like Thalia, his fate is possibly tied to a prophecy that foretells of him destroying or saving Olympus.

— Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
The prophecy of the film’s success was foretold when 70mm screening tickets for The Odyssey sold out quickly upon release one year before the movie was set to debut, according to The Los Angeles Times.

— Eleanor Jacobs, PEOPLE, 19 July 2026

Definition of foretell

Verb

There was no obvious precipitating event, but the encroachment of Grok seemed foreboding.

— Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
The windowless hallways are narrow in the federal building that houses this immigration court, and the agents’ stocky bodies are foreboding in the tight corridors.

— Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025

Definition of forebode

Verb

Hence, Raymond James heralded a 400% explosion by 2031, and Stifel at the bottom of the range augured a 19% rise.

— Shawn Tully, Fortune, 18 July 2026
In the film’s ferocious climax, Jim is shot but escapes with Selena and Hannah, and the story closes (28 days later) back in the countryside as a jet flies over and augurs their rescue.

— Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 24 June 2026