PORTENDS Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

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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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 Balor enjoyed an elusive win over the seven-foot-tall Talla Tonga, which typically portends well for wrestlers looking to get a world title shot. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026 Chairman Kevin Warsh has talked tough on inflation and his creation of task forces to study how the Fed operates seems a measured approach, but portends inaction. — Justin Zacks, CNBC, 24 July 2026 This seemingly portends a trade somewhere down the line, but for now, the Thunder capitalized on a talent tier drop-off ahead of the next group of players. — John Hollinger, New York Times, 24 June 2026 This is a delicate and dicey subject to even bring up, since the industry right now is in the grip of multiple perceptions and anxieties about what AI portends for the future of entertainment. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 18 June 2026 Regardless, Canadian space boosters say the launch portends more good things to come from a country eager to develop its own orbital lift capability. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026 Brian now realizes that the pilot’s loss of sphincter control portends not a momentary breakdown of bodily integrity but death. — Literary Hub, 4 May 2026 As with the Dred Scott decision that preceded the Civil War, such a blatantly undemocratic move portends some great cataclysm. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026 Anything below 50% favorability portends political trouble; right now Trump’s positive standing in polls hovers around a dismal 40%. — Mark Barabak, Mercury News, 1 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for portends

Verb

Undoubtedly there will be others, Brennaman predicts, not just in the NHL but across the pro sports landscape.

— Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
This is just what the economic theory of Big Players predicts.

— Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of predicts

Verb

The gap between what the league promises on paper and what a domestic player actually experiences on the ground is where the real work of building a sport lives.

— Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Even as Higgsfield promises the film isn’t meant for Hollywood’s content pool, the project is a test for how public figures can get paid to see their likenesses and scripts adapted with generative AI.

— Corbin Bolies, Variety, 5 Aug. 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

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
But a lack of accountability presages failure for California’s big reform.

— Rachel Canter, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026

Definition of presages

Verb

The Fathom is the first product built on what Ford calls the Universal Electric Vehicle platform, which will be the basic architecture for producing multiple upcoming electric cars, from compacts to vans, Bergg said.

— Michael Ballaban, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Each buoy is attached to a rope and can be thrown to someone in the water while another person calls 911.

— Darius Johnson, CBS News, 6 Aug. 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

The person who reads a stack of newsletters before breakfast gets treated as diligent, and the person who scrolls for an hour and calls it research gets away with it entirely.

— Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
The character — usually someone who can at least embody the spirit of the salt and pepper, smoothie-loving athlete — reads from a binder before being pulled around by cast in a lightning-fast recap of his solo episode.

— CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of reads

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“Portends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portends. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of portends

verb

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