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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Recent Examples of portend
There is also discussion of the $10 billion Walter’s TWG Global holding company recently received from Mubadala Capital, an investment arm of Mubadala Investment Company, the sovereign wealth fund based in the United Arab Emirates, and what that transaction portends for Walter’s next move.
—
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 24 June 2025
Do these early-season fires portend a particularly destructive season to come?
—Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 18 June 2025
The ten-year moratorium on A.I. regulation portends a similar legacy.
—Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
While Israel carried out direct strikes on Iran in April and October of last year, Friday’s attack is significantly larger in scale and could portend a more intense level of conflict — and one with a nuclear dimension, as Israel struck Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 24 June 2025
Do these early-season fires portend a particularly destructive season to come?
—Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 18 June 2025
The ten-year moratorium on A.I. regulation portends a similar legacy.
—Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
While Israel carried out direct strikes on Iran in April and October of last year, Friday’s attack is significantly larger in scale and could portend a more intense level of conflict — and one with a nuclear dimension, as Israel struck Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portend
Verb
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Unlike the 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard that meteorologists predicted days in advance, this storm was harder to pinpoint, said National Weather Service meteorologist David Beachler at the time.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
7 July 2025
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The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for the region through Monday evening, predicting potential rainfall of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated amounts up to 10 inches.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Austin American Statesman,
7 July 2025
Verb
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Del Mar will commence the start of its summer season on July 18 with a celebration that promises eye-catching arrays of color, lively music, bountiful beverages, and swift horses practically flying down the homestretch.—
Kelley Carlson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 July 2025
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The stream, which started about 20 minutes later than promised earlier on social media, began with long shots of an Iceman warehouse until Drake eventually appeared.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
5 July 2025
Verb
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And the results presaged Democrats’ 2020 Peach State success, when Biden won the state — and the presidency — while the party nabbed both of Georgia’s Senate seats.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
4 July 2025
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Over the years, Charlamagne built the kind of deeply personal relationship with his audience that presaged the always-on culture of content creators of the 21st century.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
23 June 2025
Verb
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Kia customers can also call customer care at 1-800-333-4542 or check out owners.kia.com/us/en/kia-owner-portal.html.—
Saleen Martin,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2023
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If the bill was a mistake, call 1-800-HHS-TIPS to report it.—
Louise Norris,
Verywell Health,
14 Feb. 2023
Verb
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For example, a docking in geosynchronous orbit could foretell an emerging capability for China to approach, capture, and disable another country's satellite.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 July 2025
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And my latest podcast: The warranted narrative of this Florida Panthers’ postseason had been the team’s stellar play away from home -- airports and hotels somehow foretelling unlikely magic on ice.—
Greg Cote
June 29,
Miami Herald,
29 June 2025
Verb
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With the third season of The White Lotus well underway—and its signature sense of foreboding steadily mounting—cast member Michelle Monaghan was in anything but ominous spirits last night at The Mark Hotel.—
Laura Neilson,
Vogue,
19 Mar. 2025
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Too on-the-nose to be foreboding, such clips offer a window into Linda’s mindset, as do antagonistic sessions with her therapist (and co-worker), amusingly played by Conan O’Brien with a look of constant gastric discomfort on his face that suggests her concerns may be giving him ulcers.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The uncertainty over that bedrock constitutional question augurs future cases that will clarify the scope of transgender rights.—
Stephen Humphries,
Christian Science Monitor,
18 June 2025
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Oddly, these momentous changes received little or no coverage in the Danish press, despite auguring the coming dissolution of the Rigsfællesskabet, or Danish Realm.—
Morten Høi Jensen,
The Dial,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portend. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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