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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Recent Examples of portends
The season ends on a cliffhanger, a choice that’s both frustrating but at least portends a seemingly inevitable second installment that can elaborate on what’s initially left bare bones.
—
Alison Herman, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
More concerning still is what the expiration of AGOA portends for the future, the academic believes.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 30 Sep. 2025
Google believes Gemini's ability to perform well in these kinds of advanced academic competitions portends AI's future in industries like semiconductor engineering and biotechnology.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
Beasley has an offensive skillset that portends well on most teams.
—Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Mpox researchers and doctors say the lackluster global response portends poorly for mpox's future potential as well as other disease threats.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 14 Aug. 2025
And the future portends even more dealmaking.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
If the July unemployment report portends what’s to come, the picture is bound to get gloomier.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025
Alison Herman, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
More concerning still is what the expiration of AGOA portends for the future, the academic believes.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 30 Sep. 2025
Google believes Gemini's ability to perform well in these kinds of advanced academic competitions portends AI's future in industries like semiconductor engineering and biotechnology.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
Beasley has an offensive skillset that portends well on most teams.
—Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Mpox researchers and doctors say the lackluster global response portends poorly for mpox's future potential as well as other disease threats.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 14 Aug. 2025
And the future portends even more dealmaking.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
If the July unemployment report portends what’s to come, the picture is bound to get gloomier.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portends
Verb
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Whether the virtual particles are really there or not, the math predicts exactly what researchers observe in the real world.—
Dipangkar Dutta,
The Conversation,
3 Oct. 2025
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Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, predicts that the S&P 500 could reach 7,000 by year-end.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This NiceTown design features a grommet top and promises the sort of pitch-black darkness expected from a product with the word Halloween in its title.—
Shoko Wanger,
Architectural Digest,
6 Oct. 2025
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Unlike the vast majority of punk concerts, this promises to be a barrage of melodic, accessible singalongs.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That bodes well for Weston Wilson and Otto Kemp, unless the Phillies opt to carry third catcher Garrett Stubbs as a potential pinch runner.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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The Intel chips here (Arrow Lake-H, Lunar Lake), the Apple M4, and the AMD Ryzen AI 375 were well behind the X2 Elite Extreme reference laptop, which also bodes well for the Qualcomm offering, but bear in mind a few possible caveats.—
Wendy Sheehan Donnell,
PC Magazine,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The question facing Federal Reserve policymakers, who will meet next week, is whether the employment numbers presages a broader slump.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Sanchez’s family calls it a ‘deeply distressing time’ Sanchez was in the city to work as an analyst on Fox Sports’ broadcast of the Indianapolis Colts’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
7 Oct. 2025
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However, what happens when the storyline calls for a more familial pairing?—
Sophie Dodd,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For most, such latitude foretells a long stretch to go.—
Noah Barsky,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
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No scripture foretells GPUs, gradient descent, or multimodal transformers.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Vegas has struggled on offense but rookie RB Ashton Jeanty’s breakout game last week augurs well.—
Greg Cote
October 2,
Miami Herald,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portends. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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