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
All of which might explain why voters have a half-glass-full view of what June might portend.
—
William Pesek, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
Life Expectancy Prostate cancer that becomes unresponsive to hormone therapy portends a poor prognosis (disease outcome).
—Matthew Wosnitzer, Verywell Health, 12 May 2025
This indifference to basic democracy does not portend well for what freedom would look like in a free Palestine.
—Jay Tcath, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2025
Among the group is a pair of Black twins, whose professor mentions Mengele’s fixation with identical siblings, which both portends fleeting dramatic moments in the rest of the film, and also steeps this post-mortem study in dramatic irony.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
William Pesek, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
Life Expectancy Prostate cancer that becomes unresponsive to hormone therapy portends a poor prognosis (disease outcome).
—Matthew Wosnitzer, Verywell Health, 12 May 2025
This indifference to basic democracy does not portend well for what freedom would look like in a free Palestine.
—Jay Tcath, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2025
Among the group is a pair of Black twins, whose professor mentions Mengele’s fixation with identical siblings, which both portends fleeting dramatic moments in the rest of the film, and also steeps this post-mortem study in dramatic irony.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portend
Verb
-
Research and advisory firm Gartner predicted in February that by 2027, the average prices of application programming interfaces for genAI will fall to less than 1% of the current average price for the same technology.—
Bernice Ooi,
CNBC,
26 June 2025
-
Even in the Aspen X Games test run, the tool predicted a top 3 order of finish that differed from the betting lines set by oddsmakers.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Verb
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Frette bathrobes, pillow menus, spacious dressing rooms, walk-in wardrobes, free-standing bathtubs and Hermès amenities promise the utmost comfort.—
Natasha Amar,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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To address such issues, insurers also promised to ensure that medical professionals—not administrative staff—review denied requests moving forward.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
Verb
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Yet the Foundling’s system was entirely presaged on the idea that some people’s origins need to be concealed.—
Time,
Time,
28 May 2025
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Those wins usually presage a best picture victory, especially because the producers guild uses a preferential ballot similar to the Academy’s.—
The Learning Network,
New York Times,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Breakouts might call for the Salicylic + Green Tea Exfoliating Cleanser and Aloe + Algae Lightweight Gel Cream, whereas dry skin might crave a boost of moisture from the Hyaluronic + Arnica Hydrating Serum.—
Lisa DeSantis,
Allure,
14 Feb. 2023
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Marx himself would call DEI a classic case of ideology, a set of benign-seeming ideas that disguise the workings of the rulers, in this case empowered progressives.—
WSJ,
WSJ,
14 Feb. 2023
Verb
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Those who knew him before the bombings could not have foretold his devotion to North Korea.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
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That marvelous lighted scene, foretelling the end of Europe’s deadliest period, has stayed with me all these years.—
Si Liberman,
Sun Sentinel,
7 May 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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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
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As Ellmann was quietly assembling materials for his biography, specialization was on the rise in American literature departments, as the critic Erich Auerbach warned, auguring the decline of a general humanities education.—
Eric Bulson,
The Atlantic,
16 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portend. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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