as in predicting
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 portending
The bad omens came early at this year’s Burning Man — the infamously wild, weeklong celebration of art, music, and unrestrained self-expression held at the end of every summer in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert — portending a particularly extra-ordinary burn.
—
Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portending
Verb
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Explore Fall, a website that provides resources and tools to track the changing colors of leaves, is predicting an earlier and quicker fall foliage peak for the millions of people looking to see this year's natural spectacle.—
Kyle Reiman,
ABC News,
16 Sep. 2025
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Going to half yearly reporting might potentially lead to even more trading by hedge funds who are more interested in predicting near term stock price changes rather than long term fundamentals.—
Shivaram Rajgopal,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Wrapped in millennial pink while sporting desk plaques reading #girlboss and #bossbabe, she was sold through autobiographies, TED Talks, and Instagram feeds promising that hustle could turn anyone into a CEO.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
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Conrad immediately rejected that idea, promising that his love for her had nothing to do with his mom.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The tightening polls also came after Cornyn leaned into the Texas redistricting fight, garnering attention for calling on the FBI to help bring back Democrats who had fled the state in protest against efforts to redraw the maps.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
12 Sep. 2025
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With Brown's impending court date set for later this month, Republicans are calling for the removal of Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who lawmakers argue didn't hold Brown accountable for his past alleged crimes.—
Tierra Cunningham,
ABC News,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Despite the seemingly sweet resolution to their storyline (and an ostensibly upbeat last line of dialogue), there’s a strange undercurrent to the Nagisa and Natsuo segment that suggests foreboding as much as potential happiness — a mysterious tension befitting the creator that Miyake is adapting.—
Josh Slater-Williams,
IndieWire,
17 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This astronomical use of explosives will require an increasing amount of TNT as the war continues, boding poorly for the global supply chain for the foreseeable future.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Sep. 2025
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Are changes in global commerce boding a positive, negative or neutral outcome for businesses, and what actions are organizations taking in response to these shifts?—
SJ Studio,
Sourcing Journal,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Every day there are LinkedIn posts, as well as Forbes, NYT, and WSJ articles about the massive capital reallocation by customers and investors to AI from SaaS, foretelling the end of SaaS.—
Barry Libert,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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An optimist would read the internal market action in recent weeks as foretelling an early-cycle reacceleration/reflation dynamic setting up.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Most brands hide and wait for the complaint, but alerting a client to a shipping delay or a potential service issue first is a massive differentiator.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Sky received complete immunity for alerting the CMA to its involvement before the investigation launched.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Millar, however, noted that a gauge of wholesale costs rose at the fastest pace in more than three years, auguring a further rise in consumer prices.—
Paul Davidson,
USA Today,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portending. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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