as in predicted
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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of portended
For the first four laps of the final race in the men’s speedskating team pursuit, with Lehman in the middle of a trio of Americans who arrived in Milan with the solitary goal of winning gold, Team USA held a growing lead that portended the sort of finish Lehman and his teammates envisioned.
—
Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
That loss portended woe for Winnipeg, beginning its freefall.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
And Smith was certain that these two short plays portended a great future for the twenty-year-old in the dramatic arts.
—Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
Martin County’s anti-development history portended a quick and certain rejection by the county commission.
—Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
That loss portended woe for Winnipeg, beginning its freefall.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
And Smith was certain that these two short plays portended a great future for the twenty-year-old in the dramatic arts.
—Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
Martin County’s anti-development history portended a quick and certain rejection by the county commission.
—Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portended
Verb
-
If extreme weather is predicted, place three or four sturdy stakes around the shrub and wrap around them and across the top with large pieces of burlap.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The ‘inquiry’ that rattled CBS Colbert predicted something like this would happen.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
That is still short of the 200,000 Newsom promised.—
CalMatters,
Oc Register,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Each of these characters is perfectly positioned for the life of privilege their parents promised, and yet eager for something different.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Last year’s first-round pick, defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and second-round pick, guard Jonah Savaiinaea, along with a slew of late-round finds, can get a full offseason of development, which boded well for Paul going into his second season.—
David Furones,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Jan. 2026
-
The credit analyst said August retail sales boded well for the remainder of the bts period, which typicall runs through the end of September.—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
His agency, also called Wasserman, has lost clients over the Maxwell emails.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Jackson was hospitalized in November and later diagnosed with a degenerative condition called progressive supranuclear palsy, CBS News reported.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Yet the demands of modernity produced some humane outcomes that also presaged the future.—
Drew Gilpin Faust,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
-
In other seasons, that minor miscue would’ve presaged a bitter and deserved ending and another loss to their rivals, who were operating with their backup quarterback Malik Willis after Jordan Love left with a concussion in the second quarter.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
21 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Leading up to the release of the financial results, other figures foretold the company’s weak performance.—
Andrea Guzmán,
Austin American Statesman,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Yang foretold his exit, coincidentally or not, in April.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
That may sound like a funny thing to say, in 2025, or in any year since the legendary rock singer-songwriter died in 2003, given a perennial underdog status that never augured for anything that would be likely to be called a posthumous groundswell, per se.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
24 Oct. 2025
-
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
Verb
-
People were told that artificial intelligence was the final asteroid in the extinction event prophesied by Trevor Horn, and further told that generative models and algorithmic composition would democratize creation until value ceased to exist.—
William Jones,
Miami Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Philosophers once prophesied that evolution would lead to minds far greater — and stranger — than our own.—
Thomas Moynihan,
Big Think,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portended. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
