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
Their appetites portend our doom.
—
Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Today, as people grieve for Charlie Kirk and express fears about what his death might portend for the future of American politics, his own words are bringing comfort and starting conversations.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
Beasley has an offensive skillset that portends well on most teams.
—Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Mpox researchers and doctors say the lackluster global response portends poorly for mpox's future potential as well as other disease threats.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Today, as people grieve for Charlie Kirk and express fears about what his death might portend for the future of American politics, his own words are bringing comfort and starting conversations.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
Beasley has an offensive skillset that portends well on most teams.
—Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Mpox researchers and doctors say the lackluster global response portends poorly for mpox's future potential as well as other disease threats.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for portend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portend
Verb
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Without additional revenue, the IBA predicts that the PUD will need to cut its expenses by slashing either its operating costs — likely by cutting staff — or its spending on capital improvements.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Sep. 2025
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Initial estimates predicted two to three years, and design work only began in December, the city said.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For her part, Catalina doesn’t seem like the bruja we were promised.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
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In 2019, the 37-year-old Bukele ran for president as a populist outsider promising to defeat crime and corruption in a nation with one of the world’s worst homicide rates and a history of former presidents being charged with crimes.—
T. Christian Miller,
ProPublica,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That bodes well for spending in the coming months.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
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Colas said that instances of such low correlation do not bode well for investors.—
Fred Imbert,
CNBC,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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One of Redford’s last screen roles, which presaged his retirement from acting in 2018, was as the career criminal Forrest Tucker in David Lowery’s The Old Man & the Gun.—
K. Austin Collins,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
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Local officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning at Philadelphia’s Calder Gardens, the new sanctuary honoring pathbreaking sculptor Alexander Calder, presaging its opening to the public, which is set for September 21.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This zone is crucial for pitch framing, where catchers use their presentation to influence umpires into calling borderline pitches strikes.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
27 Sep. 2025
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Generation X was the first to cope without ubiquitous workplace pensions, relying instead on a new savings tool called the 401(k).—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Todd's second-ever screen role foretold his future prominence, as the taciturn Sgt.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Sep. 2025
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However, economists caution, the better-than-expected reading could be a sign of a slowing economy and that shrinking businesses’ margins could foretell higher prices for consumers in the near future.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Despite the seemingly sweet resolution to their storyline (and an ostensibly upbeat last line of dialogue), there’s a strange undercurrent to the Nagisa and Natsuo segment that suggests foreboding as much as potential happiness — a mysterious tension befitting the creator that Miyake is adapting.—
Josh Slater-Williams,
IndieWire,
17 Aug. 2025
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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
Verb
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Husseini attempted to ply him with patronage, appointing him imam of a new mosque, but the cleric’s burgeoning following augured poorly for Husseini’s grip on power.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Millar, however, noted that a gauge of wholesale costs rose at the fastest pace in more than three years, auguring a further rise in consumer prices.—
Paul Davidson,
USA Today,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portend. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
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