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
For millions of individuals and businesses who rely on professional preparers, the answer portends a frightening prospect if the return preparer is dishonest.
—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
30 June 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
Democrats face an optimistic midterm outlook based on historical patterns showing the party out of power gains substantial House seats and Trump’s approval rating hovering around 40%, well below the 50% threshold that portends political trouble for a president’s party.
—
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
30 June 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
Democrats face an optimistic midterm outlook based on historical patterns showing the party out of power gains substantial House seats and Trump’s approval rating hovering around 40%, well below the 50% threshold that portends political trouble for a president’s party.
—
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portends
Verb
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The British betting company William Hill predicts that soccer fans will throw back more than 5 million pints of beer in stadiums and fan zones during this year's World Cup.
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Peter Supino of Wolfe Research predicts a WBD-like bidding war for NBCU, with Netflix among those apt to circle.
Verb
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The blurb promises a one-last-job kind of story, fitting for the conclusion to a modern classic of the crime genre.
-
There's still a lot of manual campaign optimization and workflow management that needs rebuilding into agentic systems, but the next wave of AI (agentic) promises real change in how marketing campaign managers do their jobs.
Verb
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That bodes extremely well for plane spotting out in broad daylight this summer.
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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.
Verb
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But a lack of accountability presages failure for California’s big reform.
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An index of 50 is balanced and presages neither economic expansion nor contraction.
Verb
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Part of the Splash Jelly Drop collection, Tory Burch’s Mini Romy reworks one of the brand’s signature shapes into a bright aquatic blue that immediately calls to mind swimming pools and cloudless skies.
-
If a street preacher shouts their sermon into a bullhorn on a public street, and a nearby business owner calls the police, who is in the right?
Verb
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What that foretells for keeping that split career ongoing into the future remains to be told.
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From the Russian perspective, all of this lines up with Europe’s history and foretells its destiny.
Verb
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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.
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This augurs poorly for yen bulls.
Verb
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The painful irony is that this retreat, invisible from the inside, reads as uncertainty from the outside.
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Its parent company is Taiheiyo Cement, a Japanese company that bought CalPortland in 1990, its website reads.
Cite this Entry
“Portends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portends. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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