portended

verb

past tense of portend
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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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 At this point, things take a supernatural leap that has already been portended by various visions and nightmares. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 July 2026 That sequence aside, Pulisic's presence energized the American attack and portended well for its next match, according to his teammates. — ABC News, 26 June 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portended
  1. predicted
  2. promised
  3. boded
  4. called
  5. presaged
  6. foretold
  7. augured
  8. prophesied
Verb
  • Many predicted this sort of mission-creep when VAR was in its infancy, and those warnings have proven well-founded.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • Hurricanes are predicted to grow stronger and spin up faster, too, having a more damaging effect.
    — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
Definition of predicted
Verb
  • With the work still incomplete, residents held a town hall demanding what they were promised.
    — Lauren Pozen, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Engle promised that the money would be held in secure accounts and returned regardless of whether the loan was funded, according to the statement.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of promised
Verb
  • 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
  • That boded well for a 2008 conversation at Seiller's home.
    — Amanda Hancock, Louisville Courier Journal, 6 Mar. 2026
Definition of boded
Verb
  • Two of the three organizations had no idea until Anthropic called them.
    — Sandy Carter, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Unbeknownst to David, the system, called WOPR—War Operations Plan Response—is in control of the American nuclear arsenal.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of called
Verb
  • Their ’90s output handily presaged the logic of media like the shows that aired on Adult Swim, adapting the bounciness and surrealism of childhood stories to biting adult sensibilities.
    — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Years of turmoil presaged the takeover.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 June 2026
Definition of presaged
Verb
  • The prophecy of the film’s success was foretold when 70mm screening tickets for The Odyssey sold out quickly upon release one year before the movie was set to debut, according to The Los Angeles Times.
    — Eleanor Jacobs, PEOPLE, 19 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of foretold
Verb
  • Hence, Raymond James heralded a 400% explosion by 2031, and Stifel at the bottom of the range augured a 19% rise.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 18 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of augured
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
  • 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
Definition of prophesied

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Cite this Entry

“Portended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portended. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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