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
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
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
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The torsion balance rod, with smaller masses attached to it, did indeed deflect as predicted.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
6 May 2026
-
More than 52,000 people are predicted to die of the disease this year.—
Erika Edwards,
NBC news,
6 May 2026
Verb
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Crown Equities promised walking trails along the river, and new roads connecting Bridgewater Road with Melrose Drive.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
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McMahon pushed back and promised that no matter where special education programs are housed, students would be treated the same way as before.—
Sequoia Carrillo,
NPR,
28 Apr. 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 National Coalition for Child Protection Reform has called it discriminatory and counterproductive.—
James R Mason,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
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His post caught the attention of a producer working for a podcast called The Last Invention, which was documenting debates about artificial general intelligence (AGI), a hypothetical form of AI that could surpass human intelligence.—
Lorena O’Neil,
Rolling Stone,
11 May 2026
Verb
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But Henry Wilshire’s agreement with the city presaged a long struggle to build the system’s central artery, the D Line, which runs east to west underneath the city, roughly along the path of Wilshire Boulevard.—
Oren Peleg,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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As for Cipriani, a hidden history of run-ins with power players seems to have presaged this Shell game.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
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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
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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 13 May. 2026.
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