portends

verb

present tense third-person singular of portend
as in predicts
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 portends The Paris presentation portends bigger plans — including a 1,500-square-foot space at legacy department store Printemps, set to open at the end of this month. — Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026 The emergence of Tolle behind them, though, is what portends best for Boston moving forward. — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026 The Dallas Cowboys’ lack of faith in starting right tackle Terence Steele portends a potentially big game Sunday night for Giants top pass rusher Brian Burns. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026 The AfD’s victory in weekend German state elections portends huge change for the country, the continent, and the West more broadly. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 7 Sep. 2026 But 160 Leroy portends a future that stretches the definition of what constitutes New York living into hitherto-unknown territory. — Bridget Read, Curbed, 1 Sep. 2026 Danica Rodmarel, an attorney who has litigated against bail bond corporations in the past, said the decision portends a difficult future for the industry. — Evelyn Ronan, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026 The change marks the end of an era in fashion and portends the beginning of another one for Marc Jacobs, the man. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 18 Aug. 2026 And then there’s the Ren Faire episode, where a McPoyle brothers’ cameo portends a closing joke so distressing my innocent little brain rejected all the warnings of its arrival. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portends
  1. predicts
  2. promises
  3. bodes
  4. presages
  5. calls
  6. foretells
  7. augurs
  8. reads
Verb
  • The hurricane center predicts 4 to 8 inches of rain for the Panhandle, or up to 15 inches in some spots.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Continue reading … LONE STAR GAMBLE — Sunny Hostin predicts Texas will 'go blue' for the first time in over 30 years.
    — , FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of predicts
Verb
  • The story picks up when 14-year-old Maeve and her older sister, Reg, start a secret phone romance with a boy from the local boat club who promises a way into the upper echelons of Cape Cod society.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • When it's released on October 23, the iPhone Duo promises similar capabilities, but in Apple's first-ever foldable.
    — Eric Zeman, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of promises
Verb
  • That bodes extremely well for plane spotting out in broad daylight this summer.
    — Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 27 June 2026
  • The Obama Presidential Center opening June 18 also bodes well for tourism, both in burnishing the city’s image and creating a new attraction to draw domestic and international visitors to Chicago, Reynolds said.
    — Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2026
Definition of bodes
Verb
  • Charlie Kirk's family blamed Utah officials for failing to prevent the conservative activist's assassination at a state university, in a wrongful death notice announced Wednesday that presages a possible lawsuit.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The backlash to the Barbara decision presages another legal and cultural battle over the meaning of the 14th Amendment and its role in the debate over who is recognized as an American citizen, observers say.
    — Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor, 22 July 2026
Definition of presages
Verb
  • Johnny calls David with this update just in time to stop Cathcarts’ final offer from reaching the Taylor & Byrne camp.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Then in 1989, an assailant attacked an elementary school in Stockton, California, using an assault rifle to kill five people and wound 29, prompting public outcry and calls to restrict such weapons.
    — Robert Spitzer, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of calls
Verb
  • At Saul's request, the witch summons what appears to be the spirit of the deceased prophet Samuel, who foretells Saul's death in battle — raising the question of theodicy, or why an all-powerful God would allow an apparently diabolical act to occur.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
  • Annabeth has grown to care for Percy, but like Thalia, his fate is possibly tied to a prophecy that foretells of him destroying or saving Olympus.
    — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of foretells
Verb
  • Pintscher, who will succeed current music director Jaime Martín beginning in 2027-28 season, augurs a new era for LACO.
    — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
  • In the film’s ferocious climax, Jim is shot but escapes with Selena and Hannah, and the story closes (28 days later) back in the countryside as a jet flies over and augurs their rescue.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 24 June 2026
Definition of augurs
Verb
  • Manning’s final stat line reads 19-of-31 for 260 yards with three touchdown passes and two interceptions.
    — Mac Engel October 10, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Oct. 2026
  • These days, Bragg no longer regularly reads the paper of record.
    — Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of reads

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portends
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Cite this Entry

“Portends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portends. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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