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
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 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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While screenshots of theaters with unsold seats have been circulating on social media, tracking service NRG has predicted a launch in the $5 million range — which would be enormously successful for a documentary.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
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Scientists predicted its arrival in mid-January, and in anticipation of the storm, more than 20 state governors issued emergency declarations.—
Rebecca Hersher,
NPR,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Yet Senate Democrats have promised to derail its passage ahead of a Friday shutdown deadline unless the DHS portion is renegotiated.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The pieces toast up crisp, but when served over warm soup, channel the gooeyness promised from the center of a fried slab.—
Rebecca Firkser,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
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More than two dozen congressional Republicans have called for a thorough investigation of the shooting of Alex Pretti, according to a count by ABC News.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
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The tight end was asked who called plays for a Kansas City Chiefs offense that had cycled through different offensive coordinators early in his career.—
Jeff Fedotin,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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
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Italian Conceptual artist and theorist Franco Vaccari, whose participatory photographic works presaged the logics of social media and helped photography gain recognition as an art form, died on December 12.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Yang foretold his exit, coincidentally or not, in April.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Dec. 2025
-
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s Mansion Languished Jen and Ben’s divorce was foretold, like so many divorces, when the couple listed their house.—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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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
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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 2 Feb. 2026.
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