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.
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Recent Examples of portended
Watching MacKinnon take a puck to the right knee late in the second stanza portended the wrong kind of juju.
—
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 May 2026
Scott Waguespack, 32nd, argued the Monday hearing portended another difficult budget season for Johnson in the fall.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
Residents near Hereford House who spied the visitors that morning may have wondered what their arrival portended for the town.
—Longreads, 5 Mar. 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
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 May 2026
Scott Waguespack, 32nd, argued the Monday hearing portended another difficult budget season for Johnson in the fall.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
Residents near Hereford House who spied the visitors that morning may have wondered what their arrival portended for the town.
—Longreads, 5 Mar. 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
-
Two victories away from the franchise's first championship since 1973, Dolan went on WFAN today and predicted a Knicks title.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
11 June 2026
-
According to market odds, they are predicted to score over four goals.—
Abdul Rehman,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
Verb
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As of last month, according to Yahoo Sports, more than $125 million worth of NIL compensation that had been promised to athletes had been rejected by the clearinghouse or was still under review.—
Ryan Kartje,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
-
Investor messages reportedly promised big returns and encouraged more investments as excitement about the battery grew.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
9 June 2026
Verb
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But Graham does fit an archetype of front-office construction that has boded well for other organizations, particularly in his willingness to invest in a more modern approach to roster building.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
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That boded well for a 2008 conversation at Seiller's home.—
Amanda Hancock,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Spurs are known for their physicality, but many believed that Wemby should’ve been called for fouls in these cases.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2026
-
Which is how Tony Alford woke up in early March to discover that Dobbins had called his cell at 3 in the morning, Ann Arbor time.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Franco-Argentinian artist Julio Le Parc, whose innovations in kinetic and Op art presaged the interactive art of today, died in Paris on May 30.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
8 June 2026
-
Hutchinson also described a family history of mental health struggles that presaged his own decline at UC Davis in the months before the killings.—
Darrell Smith
May 28,
Sacbee.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
The decision also foretold a cultural and political shift, which then executive editor Lacey Donohue — now a senior vp at Hulu — recognized immediately.—
Frank DiGiacomo,
HollywoodReporter,
8 May 2026
-
The origin of its logo foretold the company's future role in creating many recognizable brands.—
Alexander Coolidge,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This is a massive shift from late last year, when talk of an AI bubble augured capital expenditures that would come back to bite tech companies when token demand plummeted.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
1 Apr. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
In the Bible the Antichrist is a figure prophesied to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute himself as a false savior before the Second Coming.—
Gary Franks,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2026
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In his autobiography, Wright discusses how his mother prophesied his future as an architect, decorating his nursery with buildings to encourage this development.—
Carrie Hojnicki,
Architectural Digest,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Portended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portended. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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